Drive-thru communion is a new Easter week tradition in the age of coronavirus

The Rev. Gina Metze almost immediately recognized Ms. Marie, Marie Kleckley, driving in from the far end of the parking lot of Mt. Hermon Lutheran Church on Thursday morning.

Kleckley rolled down the passenger-side window of her silver Nissan, and Metze approached bearing a miniature, red plastic Solo cup. In it was a small consecrated wafer, the body of Christ.

Kleckley received the bread and a blessing from her pastor, and she drove on.

Never in her 93 years has Kleckley observed communion in such an unorthodox way. But drive-thru communion is, in part, what faith looks like in the face of pandemic.

“This is very unusual,” Kleckley said. “I commune regularly, but this is a very special communion. It makes me feel closer to Jesus, my savior.”

There are few things more emotionally intimate for people of the Christian faith than receiving communion, which is believed to either represent or embody the very presence of Jesus.

But because of the widespread practice of social distancing to help slow the spread of COVID-19, physical closeness is off limits these days.

That’s posed a challenge for Christians observing Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday. On Maundy Thursday, which marks the day of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples — the start of the practice of communion, or the Lord’s Supper — many Christians were missing the traditional observance of taking the bread and the wine.

Metze, the pastor of Mt. Hermon in West Columbia, wanted to do everything she could to help her congregation integrate worship into their daily lives during this time, she said. She had heard of the drive-thru communion practice from another pastor.

“In a time when we are being isolated, when we need to be connected as a church and we need to be a part of a bigger community ... I think it’s essential that we receive communion and be reminded of who and whose we are,” Metze said.

The church first tried it on Palm Sunday, and more than 60 people received the wafer from Metze through their car windows.

Again on Maundy Thursday, Metze greeted both church members and visitors as they drove up to the small communion table, draped with a white cloth and set beneath a Gamecocks pop-up tent in the parking lot. Wearing rubber gloves and a homemade fabric mask — patterned with tiny beige crosses and fish — Metze shared the consecrated wafers and prayed over each person by name. She prayed for their health and safety and protection and for them to be blessed.

“They are so appreciative to stay connected to the church,” Metze said.

Marcia and Wayne Wadford, members of another local Lutheran church but friends of Metze, arrived in their SUV on Thursday with their 2-year-old granddaughter Sinclair Walker perched in the backseat.

The couple shared the wafers in their car after Metze had prayed over them.

“It kind of helps us get through this,” Marcia Wadford said.

On Good Friday, members and visitors were invited to return to Mt. Hermon on their own to adorn a cross with nails in remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion. And on Easter Sunday, many will return to dress the same cross in flowers and, once again, commune via drive-thru.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Rev. Gina Metze’s name.

This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.