As sanctuaries across the country are shut due to the novel coronavirus breakout, pastors are adapting to preaching to rows of empty pews at church and through Facebook.
For Easter a congregation in Mississippi surprised their pastor with a gesture that made him feel a lot happier. For the last few weeks, Larry Duncan, pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Lake, has preached to empty pews in the church using an iPad in the center aisle streaming his sermons to Facebook.
But this past Sunday, members of the Salem congregation sent the church photos of themselves and their families, which were then taped to the pews for Duncan to see as he delivered his Easter message.
This thoughtful act by the congregation made him tear up as walked through the pews of the normally full sanctuary, looking at every picture of his fellow churchgoers. “We thought that might make it a little better,” one of the members of the worship team said to the pastor. “Now you’ve got somebody to preach to,” added another.
To our Salem family: we want to share with you the video of us surprising Bro. Larry with all your pictures for the Easter service. It was such a special, moving time. You can tell by this video how much he loves you all.
Posted by Salem Baptist Church on Saturday, April 11, 2020
We all need to keep our pastors and preachers in our prayers as they lead their flock faithfully during this difficult phase of life.
