In her message for Holy Week and on behalf of the bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario, Metropolitan and Archbishop of Algoma and Moosonee Anne Germond writes:
The Easter God announces to us, even in the wilderness “I have loved you with an everlasting love; and will continue my faithfulness to you.” Therefore, we can sing our hallelujahs (however badly that may be without the help of our neighbours in the next pew) even though it feels like there is very little to sing about. We sing because we know that death does not have the final word and where despair will not win. Like Jeremiah we look at the ruin around us and declare with confidence “Christ is Risen” because the God who raised Jesus from the dead loves us with an everlasting love and is always with us.
This Easter Sunday morning, I invite you make this joyful, hopeful announcement wherever you are by ringing bells at 9 o’clock. Home bells, church bells. Let us make a joyful noise!
The suggestion has since received encouragement from Archbishop and Primate Linda Nicholls, to become a Canada-wide initiative.
In a recent column in the Anglican Journal, the Primate also offered Anglicans a pragmatic reminder:
We may grieve losing the way we have celebrated in the past, but we can still shout “Christ is Risen! The Lord is Risen indeed! Alleluia!” to our family and neighbours across the driveway, to friends on Zoom or Facetime, on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram, or even to the cat! Christ is risen—and nothing can change that, not even COVID-19.