KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Easter Sunday is strikingly different as large group gatherings in Missouri and Kansas have been banned to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Church pews sat empty, and services were either canceled, broadcast online or held in parking lots across the metro.
All Nations Baptist Church held an outdoor sermon as people remained in their cars the entire time listening on the radio.
"We’re actually able to see each other even though we’re not touching each other,” said Lisandro Gonzalez, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Palabra Viva and All Nations Baptist Church. “So and so is in that car, so and so is in that car. I can see the pastor, so it’s wonderful.”
At Happy Rock Church in Gladstone, where Ben Kemp is the lead pastor, seats are empty -- when on Easter, every chair would be filled.
"It’s been very different just figuring out what do we do and how do we engage people because that’s what church is, it’s a family,” Kemp said.
Kemp recorded the service and posted it online, which is something the church is not used to doing.
"I think the key is just adapting,” Kemp said, “figuring out this is a new challenge, a new time to figure out how do we keep doing this without doing the same way we’ve always been doing it.”
Whether online, or from a parking lot, the same message comes through during a time of social distancing.
"Don't give up hope,” Kemp said. “This isn't the end of humanity. It may be looking a little bit different when we get to the end out on the other side, but don't give up hope.”
Gonzalez said to take the events one day at a time.
"We don't know how long this is going to be,” Gonzalez said, “just to support each other and to be kind to one another and to try and know we are all in this together.”
