Harvest Apostolic Church Pastor Dave Moore. Photo / File
Harvest Apostolic Church Pastor Dave Moore. Photo / File
The nation's Covid-19 lockdown has meant Rotorua churches were having to operate their services online, including live-streaming on social media.
Although the city's church leaders say it was a challenge and something they had never done before, they say livestreaming was no barrier for people to come together online thisEaster.
Harvest Church pastor Dave Moore said the lockdown had meant a huge change for them and they were now holding services online through live-streaming on Facebook and on the church's website.
"It's a challenge. We are actually running our services from two different homes - one home provides the music and then we swap over to one of our pastors bringing the message."
Moore said the church also had daily devotionals going on its Facebook page every day at 8am as another way to connect.
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"It's something we haven't done before. We are calling it the Isolation Devotional."
He said the church was also connecting with people through text, and the church's mid-week life groups were sill keeping connected through Facebook Messenger.
"We are encouraging people to make personal phone connections with others and that seems to be working well."
He said one advantage of online services was they had people from outside of Rotorua connect as well.
"We've had a couple from the United States that used to be here in Rotorua connect in, and people from outside the community."
The church is going to have livestream services on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, he said.
They also had a children's Facebook page, which families could apply to be on, with different families making contributions to it.
"One of our team is a teenager doing a post up every day to encourage the kids.
"These are challenging times for our nation and for the other nations of the world, so faith and God is even more relevant right now.
"People may be facing their own mortality, perhaps more than normal, so the contact and help we have in the church is important. It's important to encourage people to connect with their church, and there are plenty of opportunities for people to connect online.
"We have to maintain social isolation but we don't have to maintain spiritual isolation as well."
Salvation Army Rotorua corps officer Kylie Overbye said the lockdown meant they could not meet in person for their church services.
But she said livestreaming services around the country meant it was no barrier for congregations coming together for their services.
Salvation Army Rotorua corps officer Kylie Overbye. Photo / File
"We encourage anyone who would like to participate in an online service to jump online to www.salvationonline.org.nz at 10am on Friday and Sunday for our Easter services.
"We are united across the whole country. There are also other regional livestreams happening that people can log in to."
Overbye said they were finding they were staying connected with each other more in lockdown than in the normal day-to-day.
"We're slowing down and making time for each other more, whether within our family bubbles or through online platforms like Zoom and Skype or phone calls.
"It's a timely reminder of what is most important, and that is people. Relationships.
"We're regularly contacting each other and looking out for each other's well-being, and bringing encouragement daily via emails."
She said the Salvation Army Rotorua was responding to the community's needs of food welfare support through Civil Defence and were there to support those in need.
"We're just operating a bit differently via phone. We're only a phone call away."
Overbye said while this Easter was different to how they had gathered in the past to celebrate, the Salvation Army encouraged people to be encouraged by the new possibilities.
"Many people have more time right now to stop and appreciate the Easter message, which is a message of hope for all, and that is something we all need to be encouraged by and hear in these days.
"Check out an Easter Church service online, you can watch a virtual church from the comfort of your home, you can create new memories with your family/bubble and choose to do something special like a meal or/and activity, and spend quality time together reflecting on this season in meaningful ways.
"Most of all, remember to keep in touch with loved ones, and those in your community who are likely to be alone."
St Mary's Catholic Church and St Michael's Catholic Church priest Father Eamon Kennedy said every day they were emailing their parishioners to give them spiritual advice and updates on the parish.
"We encourage them to continue praying and we have different live-streams of mass which we encourage them to tune into - one with Bishop Steve Lowe in Hamilton and one with St Patrick's Catholic Church, Taupō, with Father Trevor Murray."
Kennedy said they were checking in on about 1000 Catholics on the parish roll and people were also sending him prayer requests, including for those working on the front lines and those who were sick.
