SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – Reverend Tara Eastman joined the Zoom call with several other pastors in the Syracuse-area on Monday expecting to go over texts for their respective sermons that coming Sunday. By the end of the call, the pastors had brainstormed a rough idea of a plan for how Good Friday could best be delivered to their audience in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in which many churches have shifted to online sermons.
It would have been difficult to put on such an important sermon alone, especially given the shift to online, Eastman said, so the pastors decided to combine their efforts. Eastman will deliver her regular Maundy Thursday sermon via Facebook live on April 9. The following day, there’ll be music from all of the churches involved and seven short sermons based on the last words of Jesus by each of the pastors. It’ll all premiere the night of April 10 at 7:30.
“That will be a I think a better way to approach that week,” Eastman said.
Susan Feurzeig, Susan Salomone, Hannah Benedict, Dana Smith and Eastman are part of the confirmed group of pastors for the event. Musicians from each of their churches will also participate. There are still other churches in the area that may choose to join in.
Eastman has already switched over to doing sermons and prayers over Facebook Live and has found each iteration to be better than the last. Many of the other churches don’t have a tech specialist like King of Kings does though, which makes this combined effort that much more important. The sermons will be able to reach a wide audience and help to bring people of faith together. Even as the coronavirus pandemic moves people toward isolation, Syracuse’s churches are finding a way to unite.
