The Rev. Dave Maitland’s wife, Bonnie, found out a local restaurant is selling its famous potato soup for $5 a quart.

So the couple bought 20 quarts to distribute to the widows at Maitland’s church, First Baptist Church in Butler. Congregation members soon joined in, offering to make or donate items to go with the soup, help assemble them or deliver them to the widows’ porches.

Activities like this and other methods are helping pastors around the county nurture their flocks and ensure they remain spiritually uplifted as coronavirus pandemic continues to keep the faithful physically separated.

Maitland said the potato soup was broken down from quart size into smaller portions and placed into a bag with other goodies or items like hand sanitizer.

The bags were then boxed up and taken to widows and others who are unable to leave their homes.

“It’s kind of grown,” Maitland said. “We sent out 36 meals the first week and we’re now over 100.”

He said the church has been delivering the meals for three weeks, and is planning a ham dinner for Easter.

One member bought 100 six-inch hoagies, which were delivered with boxes of Cracker Jack donated by another member.

Four to six members assemble the bags at the church at a safe distance from one another and using sanitary practices.

“It’s been kind of fun,” Maitland said. “It’s just a neat little thing that just happened.”

Another group of members deliver the bags to the grateful widows all over the county, using social distancing.

“It’s stop, knock and drop,” Maitland said.

He said the recipients really appreciate the meals.

“I didn’t realize how much it has touched our widows’ hearts,” Maitland said.

He said the unplanned program helps congregation members connect and pursue their Christian faith, even during the shutdown and stay-at-home order that resulted from the coronavirus.

“It’s hard, because everyone wants to help,” Maitland said. “(The meal program) has worked out well.”

Unforgettable Easter

The virus is no match for those of deep faith, he said, especially at Easter time.

“It’s kind of funny, because they said the peak in deaths will be this Sunday,” Maitland said. “That is minus one, because our Savior is risen.”

The unique situation occurring over Holy Week will provide an unforgettable memory for Christians in the United States instead of going through the motions as usual.

“I’ve thought to myself, nothings has really changed because the gospel will go forward,” Maitland said.

Still, he looks forward to a time when his flock returns to church each Sunday.

“People are longing to be back together and that’s a good thing,” Maitland said. “When you lose something, sometimes you appreciate it more when you get it back.”

Sweet deeds

The Rev. Chris Roberts of Portersville Bible Church said he and his wife, Emily, recently delivered do-it-yourself cookie kits to all church families with children.

The couple and their four young children leave the kits on the doorstep, knock on the door, and run back to the car.

“Our kids thought it was fun,” Roberts said. “You can imagine the smiles and giggles when we run away.”

The congregation is also helping a family whose new small business was to open on the same day Gov. Tom Wolf announced that businesses must shut down to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“They had rent on their space that was due, so we are trying to rally around them,” Roberts said.

He and church leaders are also calling every church member once a week to ensure they are healthy and stocked with necessities.

“They’re doing well,” Roberts said. “Some older folks are getting kind of lonely, but we try to call them as much as we can.

“Nobody has gotten sick from the virus yet and that’s what we’re thankful for.”

He said most people are now biding their time and awaiting the day when they can return to normal life, and to church.

“Some people were a little bit fearful at first, but I think a lot of that has calmed down at this point,” Roberts said.

Reaching out

The Rev. Jim Steiner of Mars United Presbyterian Church said he and church leaders are calling shut-ins and other vulnerable members, delivering groceries to them when necessary and taking them to any appointments they have that haven’t been canceled.

“It’s all informal but very effective in terms of outreach,” he said.

He said any pastor would agree that talking to the shut-ins is often most beneficial to the caller.

“We are the ones who provide spiritual food, but the members, in their life in Christ and their faith and resilience, are examples for ministers,” Steiner said. “I am quite often as lifted up as the person on the phone.”

He said his flock is not worried about the virus and keep telling him they lean on their faith to get through social distancing and the stay-at-home order.

“One of the blessings that ministers have is they are surrounded by people of faith,” Steiner said. “It keeps us going.”

He said the Mars Ministerium holds a multiple-church Good Friday service each year, which they were obviously unable to do this year.

But he said the seven pastors in the ministerium produced a Good Friday video service including sermons, prayer and pieces of music from each church.

“It’s too bad we are not able to be together, but Christ is still risen,” Steiner said. “We’ll be together eventually.”

Staying connected

The Rev. Michael Coats, who pastors at McKee Chapel United Methodist and Fenelton United Methodist churches in Clearfield Township, as well as another church in Armstrong County, said he is keeping connected with his congregation by phone.

He is paying particular attention to the elderly among his flock.

“They all seem to be in good spirits and well-stocked with supplies and kind of waiting out the situation,” Coats said.

He said his churches’ ongoing project to collect nonperishable foods for the needy has apparently not been suspended as he expected.

“I’ve heard we have some items for delivery now,” Coats said.

He feels the unorthodox Easter this year might serve as a sort of shake-up for Christians.

“On one level it’s frustrating, because it definitely takes us out of our normal practice of gathering for the holiest day on Christian calendar, but I think there is good also coming out of this,” Coats said. “It causes us to stop and think about the reasons behind our traditions and dig a little deeper into our faith and relationship with the Lord.”