◆ Pastor Doug Hollen to use technology to share Easter message.

With social gatherings limited to 10 people or less, and the majority of the area’s Sunday worship services canceled, local Pastor Doug Hollen has made plans to share an Easter message this weekend via broadcast.

The broadcast will be shared through SVI Radio at SWIFT 98.7 FM as well as via video on SVInews.com.

The Easter message is scheduled to air at 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 12. According to Pastor Hollen, the message is for anyone and everyone who would like to listen on the radio or watch the video broadcast.

“What kind of prompted this is that we are all trying to get used to this social distancing,” said Pastor Hollen. “Everything is getting canceled, the worship services concerts, plays, we had a community event planned to celebrate Resurrection Week and that was canceled. So I started thinking of what we could do as far as having something special for Easter and to celebrate Easter.”

Pastor Hollen considered a number of different ideas that ranged from a drive-in style church were a designated location could be selected and people who wanted to take part could drive there and listen to the sermon on the radio.

“Initially I wanted to have the sort of drive-in style church at the south end so that people could come and listen to a sermon and watch the sun come up and be surrounded by the peace of the landscape. But there were limitations as far as how we could broadcast from such a location,” Pastor Hollen said. “So then we looked at areas of the valley that perhaps we could have something like that.”

Concerns with holding a drive-in style church service included having people gather and potentially increase the chances of spreading illness inadvertently as a result, Pastor Hollen said.

“Nobody wants to see something like that happen,” he said. “So in thinking about how a community worship service could be held and still have social distancing take place, we decided that broadcasting a service and letting people choose to listen over the radio or watch the video from a location of their choose was the way we could do this.”

Pastor Hollen is encouraging area residents interested in being a part of the Easter Service to drive their car to a location that is special to them and listen over the radio. Or, if they prefer, area residents can stay in their home and watch the video broadcast.

“When it is all said and done this whole thing is about connecting and uniting the valley for a moment so that we can celebrate Easter and share the Easter story,” he said. “For that moment we will be socially distant. But we will be spiritually and emotionally connected – united as a valley.”

According to Pastor Hollen, the Easter Service Broadcast will last about a hour and will include Christian music with a Easter theme as well as an Easter message.

You can also follow Pastor Doug Hollen on Facebook.

“I post sermons to my Facebook page,” he said. “Just look for me under my name.”

According to Hollen, it is important to keep community connections going even as people socially distance themselves.

“We just need to get a little creative in how we are going to do that,” he said.