Obviously, many things have changed with the outbreak of COVID-19 and we are forced to create new normals in our lives, finding alternatives to how we typically go about our work, recreation, socializing, and how we connect to our faith. 

This was the case for my family on Easter weekend, when we had to choose how we were going to observe this important holiday with our churches being closed to parishioners and our homes now expanding their roles in worship and fellowship. 

My daughter, Chaltu Watkins, explains how we spent the weekend: 

As a Christian family, Holy Week is very special. This year we celebrated it in a different way than usual due to COVID-19.  

Normally, we celebrate Easter by going to church and being surrounded by other believers, but since we could not do that, we watched services online. 

For Good Friday, we watched the MET Church service (based in Fort Worth, TX) where Pastor Bill Ramsey said that“Jesus offers the solution before the problem presents itself and never was that more true then at the cross.” 

And on Easter Sunday, we watched an online mass at our Frederick church, St. John The Evangelist where Father Kevin explained, Easter is when“Jesus takes away our sins, struggles, and our anxieties. He paid the ransom for our sins so the Good News would be that we could live and be with God forever.”  

Besides watching online services my family and I took the opportunity to spend time together and make memories since all of us were in the house. We planted flowers and made the backyard beautiful, went for walks, runs and bike rides. It is really important that in times of distress, we stop and look at the positive things in our lives and appreciate them.