Organizations around the world are trying to adapt to a new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In times of social-distancing and isolation, they've had to do that.  Most church worship services have gone online as congregations have been forced to stay home.  Tomorrow though, for Easter Sunday, you can get in your car and drive to church once again.

The only thing is, you have to stay in your car.

Venue Church of Airdrie is hosting four Easter worship services in a drive-in church format tomorrow.  Pastor Cory Kope explains that it's all approved by Alberta Health Services, with the concept actually endorsed by Alberta's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

"We've been working with a representative from Alberta Health.  I was extensively on the phone with her.  In talking with her, and Dr. Hinshaw actually mentioned this in the last couple of weeks a drive-in church, sort of like a drive-in movie used to be.  So we thought, 'what if we do a 20 foot LED wall and sort of pipe the sound right into people's cars?' So we kind of came up with a plan with our Alberta Health representative and the final okay came through on Monday so we've been kind of spinning it real quick ever since then."

People who come to the services will be isolated in their cars.  Not only did the AHS rep approve the church doing this, she actually encouraged them to have drive-in church.  "Her words to me were, 'please, please, do something like this because people for their mental health need to get outside and get out of their houses right now.'"

Kope says the service will consist of worship segments that their teams put to video in the Venue studio before things shut down several weeks back.  At that time he also put his Easter sermon to video in anticipation of the changing times.  "It's kind of like a whole Easter worship experience that will happen every hour during that time. Everybody will stay in their cars and we have some ingenious ways to enforce that although, I don't think that's going to be a problem honestly because people want to be safe and that's our ultimate concern for people." 

Four services will take place you'll at 8:30 am, 9:30 am, 10:30 am and 11:30 am.  The church revealed today that they'll be held at 77 Gateway Drive.  More details at venuechurch.ca,

Easter is the most important date on the faith community's calendar and Kope believes it's also very important that people have the opportunity to gather together, even if they do it from the safety of their cars. 

"Dr. Hinshaw has mentioned in a phone call to religious leaders that she considers the faith community to be an essential service to people.  It's their support group, it's their mental health, it's their spiritual health I would say.  They don't necessarily have the luxury of picking and choosing and say 'let's just deal with the COVID outbreak.'  They're actually concerned with other things happening in the community. I would suggest, part of those things is the deep need in the heart of people of faith to get out and worship on Easter Sunday."

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