TEMPLE, TX — Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there wasn’t an empty pew on Easter Sunday at Grace Temple Ministries.
“It was like Super Bowl for church,” Alexxis McBride, the church’s bishop’s daughter explained. “It was our main event, it was where we pulled out all the stops.”
When the pandemic was in full swing, the church uploaded its services online.
However, that transition wasn’t easy for everyone.
”It was really hard for me,” April Melendez, a church member admitted. “I'm one of those people where I feel weak if I'm away from the church.”
Now, with more people getting vaccinated and the state’s mandates less strict, they’re slowly welcoming folks back to church.
It's just in time for Easter Sunday.
“I don't think words can describe how I feel right now and just not me but having my kids in the atmosphere consistently,” Melendez said. “This is our Super Bowl like this is the day that the Lord rose.”
However, they’re still following CDC guidelines while worshiping.
“We are doing temperature checks at the door, we are distancing still, we sanitize weekly, we bio protect,” McBride explained the church’s efforts to keep its congregation safe.
Even though things may be different, the church family says they’re happy to be back worshiping God, especially on the day Jesus rose from the tomb.
”It's so good to be able to smile at each other and give each other those gestures of love,” McBride said smiling. “It's really, really important to everyone and I'm just so glad that we're able to do it again.”
The church has a reopening plan for the next couple of months, but for now Sunday services will be in person and online at 10:30a.m.
BE SURE TO "LIKE" 25 NEWS KXXV ON FACEBOOK! YOUR FRIENDS DO!
