As Christian and Judaism practitioners around the world mark high holidays in April, many religious rites are moving out of houses of worship and just to the house.

Edmonton is no exception, as religious leaders look to livestreams and online resources to ensure the safety of their communities as they tend to their spiritual needs. 

Easter weekend — Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday — is one of the high marks of the Christian spiritual calendar, often bringing out even the less observant members of the faith.

“None of those celebrations are going to have any congregations,” Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton spokesperson Lorraine Turchansky said in an interview with Edmonton AM on Thursday.

“In a normal year, that’s when our churches are absolutely packed.”

The province further tightened restrictions around public gatherings in late March, limiting the maximum number of people to 15. 

By then, the Edmonton archdiocese had already cancelled in-person masses and shifted to virtual services from St. Joseph’s Cathedral Basilica west of downtown.

“Our livestreams have been getting thousands and thousands of views, even before this week,” Turchansky said.

“We find that people are really appreciating them,” she added. “In a way, I think it’s made people appreciate the faith more.”

Turchansky said the church has also seen comments on Facebook supporting the continuation of the streams in a post-pandemic setting.

“We’ll definitely look at doing that,” she said.

‘Silver lining’

Reverend Leigh Sinclair at Robertson-Wesley United Church said taking masses online has also been an opportunity to connect with those who may not have been able to attend previously because of physical or mental health barriers.

“They’re coming to church every Sunday again,” she said.

“It’s been the silver lining of the dark cloud of COVID,” Sinclair said. “We are becoming aware of how interdependent we are and how much our faith can ground us in this time.”

On Saturday, the church is inviting its congregation to place candles in their windows “to remind each other we’re not alone even though we are apart,” she said.

Sinclair is also planning a special livestream to capture the sunrise on Easter Sunday from a riverbank near her downtown church. Previously, around 30 people would gather there to welcome the resurrection with song.

This year, Sinclair will be singing alone — at least physically.

“I will livestream that so people can still experience how creation and the world around us shows us that new life comes out of every night.”

Solo seder

The major Jewish holiday of Passover runs this year from April 8 until April 16. It marks the escape from slavery in Egypt by the Israelites, retold in the Christian Bible as Exodus.

“We tell that story and each year that we tell it, we’re supposed to see ourselves as having been part of the exodus,” Beth Shalom Synagogue Rabbi Steven Schwarzman said earlier this week.

On the first two nights of Passover, observers hold the ritual feast of seder. Schwarzman said normally members would gather in large groups and read the Haggadah text telling the story of the exodus.

But this year is different. With public worship halted, Schwarzman started supplying members with online resources — including for the seder.

“So they can rehearse the melodies for the songs that can deepen their understanding of the themes that are in the story of Passover,” he said.

“Because a lot of our people are used to somebody else leading the seder and suddenly it’s nobody but them.”

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