LEXINGTON, Ky. — For some churches in Lexington, Easter Sunday was filled with egg hunts and church services, looking a little closer to how the holiday used to be celebrated before the pandemic. Crossroads Church in Lexington was one of the many churches that held in-person services this year.

Almost a year after the pandemic started, Easter Sunday still looks different in most churches. Crossroads in Lexington was just one of the many churches that turned to online services last year. This year, they were able to invite the community back inside their doors. 

“Easter has been awesome this year after being all online last year right after the pandemic started to be able to be together, live in buildings and online. To celebrate Easter one of the cornerstone holidays of the Christian year has just been awesome to be back together with, with our people in our community,” Community Pastor John Gillispie said. 

Bringing some sense of normalcy to their Easter services, Gillispie said they had many safety protocols in a place like social distancing and wearing masks throughout the entirety of the service.

“This year we added extra services because we had people spaced out in the auditorium to create space, not only for our people but to make space for friends and neighbors to come to visit us to join us on Easter. They have a safe socially distant experience here in our building,” Gillispie said.  

Crossroads Church was not the only church in the community that hosted in-person services, many other churches in the Lexington area held multiple in-person services. Gillispie says being able to host in-person Easter services was one step closer to having normal holiday celebrations. 

“People that We haven't seen all year long, that maybe they were waiting on vaccination or waiting on springtime to get here, are back in bigger numbers than ever before and we had space. We've had a great experience and a really safe environment for them,” Gillispie said.