The Rev. Austin McGehee could picture it – the church filled with families in their Easter Sunday best, the scent of abundant lilies and incense, the joyful harmony from the brass quintet, choir and organ.

This Easter, like countless other places of worship across East Mississippi and the country, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Meridian will sit empty and silent.

To keep everyone safe from the spread of COVID-19, the congregation will meet online to watch a live service from a room in McGehee’s house.  

The organist has recorded hymns to go along with the sermon. 

McGehee said he was at peace with the arrangement.  

“There’s a great cry out there with the loss of jobs and the way our lives are being disrupted and shifted,” he said. “God is asking us to hold on that this will pass.”

McGehee said he sees the change in format as an opportunity to hit the reset button and return to the church’s roots. 

“Hopefully, when a lot of these things come back, whether it’s handshakes or something as sacred as Communion … I’m hopeful that we will really be present for it and be present for each other and value it and know that there’s a reason that we gather.”

In Philadelphia, Rev. Austin Bishop will get up before sunrise to hold a short online service from his yard for Philadelphia First Assembly of God. 

Since he started streaming services online, he’s noticed hundreds more have tuned in than typically come to the church. 

“I think the doors have been opened for us to reach like we haven’t before,” Bishop said. “We’re just going to take it slow and do well at what we’re doing, and just not be fretting the circumstances, but thrive in them.”

Those who worship at Freedom Rock Church in Meridian will have five ways to virtually attend Easter service. 

Bishop-elect LaBaron Hedgemon began preparing weeks ago, recording a production from within the church that will be aired live online Sunday, instead of celebrating together at Temple Theater or the church’s new facility. 

“We want to try to make the best of the virtual limitation, yet while commemorating the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” he said. “Although we’re not together, we can actually feel God and feel the agreement and the fellowship in spirit of each other.”

The Catholic Community of Meridian announced that services would be celebrated its pastor, Rev. Augustine Palimattam, at St. Patrick Catholic Church and available to watch from home, on air and online. 

Families across the region have been coming up with ways to stay connected for the celebration. 

Rachel Pomeroy, who lives off Country Club Drive in Meridian, said neighbors have held a scavenger hunt and chalked their sidewalks since the pandemic began. 

“When we found out that we were going to go into shelter in place, we realized that would knock out a lot of our Holy Week and Easter festivities that we normally celebrate at our churches and one of our neighbors suggested us flowering a cross on Easter Sunday morning.”

Pomeroy gathered some wood that had once been part of a closet in her carport, to avoid an unnecessary trip to the store for supplies.

Over the course of three days, she sanded and stained the wood and built a cross, 73 inches tall.

Wrapped in purple tulle fabric and decorated with palm fronds, it’s been placed outside, where neighbors can access it.  

“Every family is planning on coming up one at a time to keep practicing the social distancing and put their flowers on and then come back later once the cross is full of flowers and take Easter pictures,” Pomeroy said.

One neighbor has even ordered enough flowers for each child in the neighborhood to place at the cross.

“Yes, things are different, yes this is a trying time, but love never fails and hope never ends and that’s the whole purpose of Easter,” Pomeroy said. “Church doesn’t happen within the four walls of the church building. Church begins in your home. We want to make sure that we are teaching our children about our faith, about the Bible, and the sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us.”

At Lazy Acres Farm Fun in Chunky, owner Michael May made the call a few weeks ago to close the bunny patch and cancel the Easter egg hunts and several other special events. 

He had been looking forward to holding a hunt for special needs children for the second year and launching a new “Bunnies and Barbecue” event for adults. 

Though the cancellations mean May will lose 10 to 15 percent of his annual income, he’s focused on his October pumpkin patch and remains grateful this Easter.

“It’s been a nice time to just kind of reflect and be with family and make the most of what we have and be appreciative of what we have.”