BUFFALO, N.Y. — As anticipated, more crowds filed back into churches this Easter Sunday.
For the past two years, a majority of houses of worship have turned to streaming services. But as communities continue inching back toward pre-pandemic life, more parishes are seeing people inch back into pews.
Father David LiPuma is the lead Pastor at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna and says today was truly overwhelming.
"I can tell you very much as a pastor, and I speak for our people, one of the hardest things is not to be able to gather together," Father David says. "That's the core of our faith and what the church is really all about the people of God coming together to assemble."
Pews were also packed, as was the choir, at True Bethel Baptist Church on Buffalo's East Side.
Bishop Darius Pridgen took to the microphone to share with the congregation that while this long road back to "normal" continues, a return to fellowship once again on Easter Sunday is a true blessing.
"This is only by God's grace that we're all together. Thank God, it is only by his grace," Bishop Pridgen says.
And while for some the return to in-person services on Sunday may have been a first, for others the choice to enjoy service in the comfort of their home is still an option.
"A lot of people have suffered over the last couple years, and we know it's not over, the pandemic continues," Father David says.