Procession & Prayers

Walter Sprague
Art and Culture Reporter
 
On Easter Sunday, about 25 cars from several churches in Newcastle lined up in the Pinnacle Bank parking lot as early as 8:30 a.m. By 9 a.m., the vehicles were ready for the Easter procession. Led by Wayne Wilson, Senior Pastor of Church on the Hill, they drove down U.S. Highway 16, South Summit, West Main and then over the U.S. 16 bypass to Wilson’s church. Once there, Wilson was joined by Norm Brotzman (Assembly of God) and Todd Olson (Church on the Hill) who stepped out of their cars to lead worship. Each pastor took a turn leading the worshippers in prayer. Their congregants stayed safely in their vehicles. 
At the Pinnacle Bank parking lot, signs adorned windows of several cars with messages of hope and faith. A large cross was perched in the bed of a pickup. Banners of praise window paint  decorated other cars. The idea, the brainchild of some pastors in the area, was a way for worshippers to gather while maintaining social distancing. The idea was to worship and praise Jesus Christ on this holiest day of the year for the Christian church during a coronavirus crisis. 
During the procession, the cars honked as they proceeded around town. The mood was one of joy, love, and hope — even the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department Tower 17 joined in the celebration. A massive fire truck, its ladder suspended high above the corner of South Summit and Main, had an empty cross hanging above the intersection, with the firefighters honking back at the parade as the cars passed.
Although the procession and prayers did not last very long, the parade gave worshippers a sense of being able to fulfill the precept found in Scripture. Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”