LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — As COVID-19 prevents churches from worshiping together, a Lee's Summit, Missouri, church is getting creative to bring its parish together.
Since Thursday, Cathie Liccar has been hard at work, printing photos of the congregation at St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church.
“I’ve been printing the pictures. It’s been the highlight of my week," said Liccar.
In their own way, members of St. Margaret's are still able to fill the pews.
“I think I posted that on Thursday and so we already have over 100 photos in here and a lot of them are families grouped together too, so it looks like one photo but in all reality, it represents 5 or 6 people, so it’s really awesome to start to see that begin to grow," said Hillary Talken.
Talken told 41 Action News the idea came from a priest in Italy who printed photos of his congregation and prayed over them. She said it's a small project, that church goers say, is going a long way.
“This is me holding our dog, Harlow, and my husband, Jeremy, and my oldest daughter, Callie, and Autumn, my youngest daughter," said Emily Martens.
Martens and her family have been members of St. Margaret's for 10 years. Sunday will be their first service online.
Uncertain about the future, Martens told 41 Action News the small gesture lifts her spirits.
“Just to see the positive influences within our community and specifically within our church, and sharing the positive messages that they’ve been doing, you know, has been helpful in keeping my mind in a positive mindset as well," said Martens.
When the stay at home order takes effect on Tuesday, churches everywhere will have to stick to streaming.
If you're not a member of St. Margaret's, you can email them your photo and they said they'd be happy to put it up.
“It brings a tear to my eye because they’re still yearning for community, they just, they need to be apart of it," said Liccar.
