In Holy Week, Beshear stands even firmer against gatherings, offers a video from a pastor

In a video shown during Beshear's daily briefing Monday, the pastor of a Louisville church urged Kentuckians to follow the governor' policies.

For many Kentuckians, “Easter week” involves three or more trips to church in eight days, and for many more it includes a weekend of family gatherings with egg hunts and shared meals, but Gov. Andy Beshear says “We can’t be doing that” this year — and even small gatherings of people who commit to staying six feet apart outside are simply not allowed.

“The answer to that, folks, and it’s a hard one, has to be no,” he said at his daily COVID-19 briefing, when asked what he thought of that scenario. “We’re trying to make sure that we are not increasing contacts, even from six feet away.”

He added, “Social distancing is about making sure when you come across somebody … that you are at a sufficient distance not to spread the coronavirus; but it can’t be an excuse or a crutch, and I know that’s a hard way of saying it when we are talking about Easter, wanting to get together, but it can’t be a reason that we don’t stay at home.”

Essentially the same question was asked several different ways during the briefing, and Beshear’s answer was always the same.

“We cannot have house parties,” he said. “Right now, that is the area that we need to improve on. Sure, it’s smaller than a large gathering, and yes, I know you want your kids to be able to play with other kids, I desperately do, but we cannot be having house parties.”

He reiterated: “No, having people over and just saying we’re going to be six feet apart, you are all touching the same things, the virus is going to spread in that type of situation.” He said earlier, “We have direct proof that any crowd, anywhere can spread this virus and ultimately cause harm to Kentuckians.”

Beshear said Hopkins and Jefferson counties are not going to allow drive-through church services, either because they have been hit so hard by the coronavirus or because of their high population density. He said he supported the decisions of Hopkins Judge-Executive Jack Whitaker and Louisville Metro Mayor Greg Fischer: “They are seeing what is going on in their communities.”

He urged those at drive-in services to follow his rules: “Nobody gets out of the car, cars are six feet apart and you’re not passing things” among cars.

For many Protestant churches, Easter week is a rare time for communion, or “the Lord’s supper.” In Midway, the Sojourn Church plans to have a drive-in service to which participants will bring their own communion materials, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said at last evening’s City Council meeting.

But some churches have continued inside services, promoting Beshear to suggest Sunday that he might have to close them because there have been three cases of COVID-19 outbreaks stemming from church services.

At Monday’s briefing, he played a video from Dr. F. Bruce Williams, senior pastor of Bates Memorial Baptist Church in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood, saying that he wanted to encourage obedience of Beshear’s policies, especially staying home and social distancing.

“All of them are designed for us to take the virus seriously and to get on the other side of the virus,” Williams said. “I know that this is a tough time, as the governor has said, and I know it requires sacrifice and some inconvenience, but lives are at stake and so I join the leaders and the governor for making sure that we keep these mandates.”

“For those who are part of the faith, though especially of the Christian church, I know that we have faith, but we also know that we are guided by faith and wisdom and both of those are important, they are not mutually exclusive. God has given us faith, but he has also given us consecrated common sense. So, let’s join them in making sure that the flock that we guide, that we are the kind of shepherds that not only feed them, but also we are the kind of shepherds who protect them.”

Noting that Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, Williams said, “Whatever else the resurrection means, it means that life is stronger than death, and that ‘s what gives me hope during this time. … God gets the last word and by the will of God, we will get on the other side of this. And so until then, let’s keep the mandates and I’ll see you on the other side of this pandemic.”

Beshear said, “Sunday is going to be tough,” and noted that his son was supposed to be baptized this Sunday, but will have to wait.

Melissa Patrick is a reporter for Kentucky Health News, an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. She has received several competitive fellowships, including the 2016-17 Nursing and Health Care Workforce Media Fellow of the Center for Health, Media & Policy, which allowed her to focus on and write about nursing workforce issues in Kentucky; and the year-long Association of Health Care Journalists 2017-18 Regional Health Journalism Program fellowship. She is a former registered nurse and holds degrees in journalism and community leadership and development from UK.