A handful of churches in Northern Ireland carried out drive-in services this weekend, but more are planning to do so in the coming weeks
ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, in the car park of a market in the Northern Irish town of Rathfriland, Pastor Ian Wilson stepped up to his pulpit on the back of a builder’s van. Next to him, using a horsebox as a stage, a brother-and-sister duet performed hymns. He then read from the Gospel of John: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Drive-in events have been popular for almost as long as the car. The first patented drive-in movie theatre opened in 1933 in Camden, New Jersey, where audiences paid 25 cents per car, and the same again per occupant, to see the latest pictures. By 1958 more than 4,000 theatres were operating across America, although many closed in the 1970s and 1980s as new forms of entertainment became popular.
But it is not all good news for theatres. Much of their revenue comes from food-and-drink sales rather than tickets, and worries about infections are putting many audiences off their hot dogs. Few theatres have drive-through concession stands. The Sunset Drive-In in Vermont is asking customers to order snacks by phone or online to avoid unnecessary human contact. Mr Bloomer has limited his menu, and says that sales are not what they would normally be. Another problem is what to show.
While some people are getting into their cars to feed their souls, others are looking for a more mundane kind of nourishment. Last week McDonald’s reopened 33 of its restaurants in Britain for take-away orders. The menu is limited to a few items, and customers can order only at drive-through hatches. Despite these restrictions, lengthy queues quickly formed.
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