I read my friend Phil’s blog this morning and was taken with one line in it. He, like many of us was weighing the pros and cons of returning to live worship rather than online worship given the recent lifting of some restrictions by the Provincial Government. He talked about sanctuary space, number of congregants, safety precautions, all those things we need to think about given the current realities of life. But the line that resonated is, “Our United Church Creed does not say that we are called -“To go to church” but rather that we are called – “To be the church”. I like that reminder!
Over the past 14 weeks we have been worshiping together at Bracebridge United Church. It is just that we do it from the comfort of our own homes! I have told you in a previous blog how my week has turned around in order to record the service so that it can be posted on YouTube for people to stay connected as a congregation and worship even if it is through the internet. Of course it is not the same as arriving at the church building, sitting in the sanctuary, singing and praying and reading together and then visiting over a cup of coffee. But it can still be inspiring and transformational and a connection to those we call our community of faith. I am well aware that this style of worship is not available to some of our older folks who do not have computers and are not able to access this opportunity but to those people I try to make paper copies of the service and sermon available. It is not the same but it is something.
We have a team from our Board who has met to discuss what church will look like when we resume. I am encouraging the option that we ‘stay the course’ and continue as we are until September. Yes, the guidelines have been lightened but that is because the government was lobbied by evangelical churches who pressured the government into their way of thinking that they have a “God-given right” to gather for worship and the government cannot prevent them. Working with the 30% restriction is not easy in our setting. I would much rather have my community of faith safe and healthy than encourage them to come together and risk infection.
I really appreciate the reminder that we are called “to be the church”. We ca n continue to be faithful, to be responsive, to be transforming, to be prayerful, to give praise and to care for creation, even though we are not gathering in the sanctuary on Sunday morning. That day will come but even without corporate worship together in the building we can “be the church”.
