News Photo by Julie Riddle Father Art Duchnowicz prepares on Wednesday for a Holy Week worship service in which he will be the only participant at St. Casimir Catholic Church in Posen.

ALPENA — As two church members cleared away leaves in the cemetery next door, Father Art Duchnowicz stood behind a small altar in a side chapel at St. Casimir Catholic Church in Posen, preparing for the next day’s mass.

There were no cameras, no smartphones propped up and ready to shoot, no live audience waiting at home to post comments and sing along.

“We pray with the people and for the people,” said Duchnowicz, the spiritual leader at one of the dozens of Northeast Michigan churches working to commemorate the Christian church’s holiest week of the year at a time when a worldwide health crisis makes business as usual almost an impossibility.

On Wednesday, District Health Department No. 4 released a statement asking residents to refrain from public gatherings on Easter, including family get-togethers and egg hunts, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

No confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, have been detected in Alpena, Alcona, or Montmorency counties as of Wednesday evening. One confirmed case was reported Monday in Presque Isle County. Statewide, the tally topped 20,000, with nearly 1,000 deaths.

Businesses and individuals received good news of help coming their way as they grapple with the health crisis:

∫ Energy company Presque Isle Electric and Gas Co-op announced Wednesday it has extended suspension of shutoffs, collections, and late fees for lack of payment through April 30.

∫ Grants and loans totaling up to $400,000 were awarded to small businesses using funds from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. In the five-county region served by Target Alpena, nearly 300 grant applications were received, with 116 grants awarded and seven loan requests sent to the MEDC for consideration, according to a news release from the Northeast Michigan Council of Governments. Grant money should go out by Friday.

∫ Over $5 million was awarded to northern Michigan health centers from Congress’ $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package, U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters announced, including $1 million for Alcona Citizens for Health, $779,960 for MidMichigan Health Services Inc., and $769,850 for Thunder Bay Community Health Service Inc.

Meanwhile, churches continue to provide help of a spiritual nature during Holy Week, the seven days leading up to Easter Sunday.

‘ALL BY MYSELF’

Following the customs of the ancient church, Easter vigil — the most significant time of worship in the Catholic year — begins at 9 p.m. Saturday night. Beloved rituals, from the carrying of a candle into a dark church to the blessing of holy water, mark the beginning of the day that, Christians believe, Jesus Christ returned to life after dying on a cross.

“I will do it here, all by myself,” Duchnowicz said in his Polish accent.

Heeding a directive of the Diocese of Gaylord, local Catholic churches stopped conducting all services, including funerals, in mid-March.

While some congregations have taken to livestreaming, televising, or radio-broadcasting their services, in Posen, Duchnowicz continues the liturgical rhythm of his church alone.

Duchnowicz stands in front of an empty sanctuary, murmuring prayers, performing rituals, standing in for the people who have to stay at home.

“I know it’s hard on them,” Duchnowicz said. “They’re missing it. They watch it on TV, but it’s not the same. It’s not the same as being with people.”

On Sunday, the traditional beginning of Holy Week that commemorates Jesus’ palm branch-carpeted donkey ride into Jerusalem, palm branches decorated the altar at St. Casimir.

Today, Maundy Thursday, Duchnowicz will celebrate the institution of communion — a church practice involving the eating of bread and drinking of wine connecting believers to Jesus’ death — alone, in front of empty pews.

Good Friday, when the church somberly remembers Jesus’ death — and the only service in the Catholic church year when worshippers the world over don’t partake in communion — will be a time of darkness, Duchnowicz said, followed by the quiet of Saturday and the joyous words of Easter.

All of it, Duchnowicz said, he’ll do alone.

“To go and celebrate the most special liturgies all by yourself, it is just strange,” the priest said. “But we know that we do it for a good reason. Hopefully, we can stop the virus from spreading, and, soon enough, we’ll be back to normal.”

‘JESUS IS STILL ALIVE’

Sustaining connections while members are kept at arms length is crucial, especially during Holy Week, said Michelle Smith, pastor at New Life Christian Fellowship on Ripley Boulevard in Alpena.

As they have since the coronavirus turned conventional church life on its head, phone calls, texts, and instant messages during the week before Easter make sure people know they’re still cared about, even when they can’t come through the church doors.

Easter-themed crafts sent by mail are meant to keep young ones engaged in the life of the church, and family challenges pose fun opportunities to post photos to the church Facebook page and win prizes.

Worship services, which are, as of late, livestreamed from church leaders’ homes with the help of an ironing board and a bungee cord, will commemorate the special days of Holy Week.

Worship services at New Life have swelled in size, from the usual 150 to 200 in-person worshippers to 2,000 viewers last Saturday — an indication, perhaps, that people need church right now, Smith said.

There won’t be the usual conversation and hugs after the service, and members won’t get to sing their favorite Easter hymns surrounded by fellow members.

But, said Nicole Morgan, communications coordinator for New Life, the church will livestream the sunrise on Easter morning, complete with the sound of waves pushing onshore, and the bells in the church steeple will resound loud and strong before the 10 a.m. online service.

“It’s kind of paring Easter back from all the things that are peripheral,” Morgan said. “People are saying, ‘Yeah, the stuff is missing. Yeah, we’re not at church. But Jesus is still alive.'”

‘WE’RE HERE TO SERVE’

The annual egg hunt at First Assembly of God in Alpena will be replaced by bags of goodies this year, assembled by gloved workers six feet apart and dropped off on children’s doorsteps.

As Easter celebrations near, members of the congregation are encouraged to host watch parties, inviting friends to view pre-recorded Holy Week services.

“Jesus loves you, we love you, and we’re here to serve,” pastor Kerry Clark said.

A second worship location at the Chamber of Commerce Hall in Ossineke was scheduled to launch on April 5, before the pandemic upended plans. Now, it’s an online campus, Clark said.

He hopes that, in a difficult time, the community is looking to the church for hope and help — and, he added, sometimes the best way to help someone is to stay away from them.

“Making people sick is not loving your neighbor,” the pastor said.

‘THE CHURCH IS NOT A BUILDING’

An Easter drama planned for this Sunday will have to wait a year, said Lee Blanchard, of Living Hope Church.

The church, tucked unobtrusively across from the Alpena Walmart, has taken quickly to an all-online communication network, said its pastor, who will stream pre-recorded services Friday and Sunday.

As at several other congregations, Living Hope’s Easter service will invite members to take communion at home with their families, using juice and crackers.

Seeing their church leaders’ faces each Sunday has been reassuring to members, who miss the sanctuary where they come together as a church family, Blanchard said.

“But the church is not a building,” he added. “It’s us, the people. And we have to be there for each other.”

As Michiganders listen to news of illness and are relegated to their homes, the church gives them somewhere to turn for hope, especially in a season that celebrates the very reason Christians have hope to offer, said Renee Blanchard, Lee Blanchard’s wife and family pastor at the church.

“People need encouragement. They need reassurance. The need to have trust in something outside of just themselves or their society or government,” Renee Blanchard said. “That’s something that the church can be right now — a place of peace and a place of safety that can help them through a time that’s scary.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.