Dipping our toes back into face to face worship

We began by meeting outside

After two months of a stay at home order, the state of Missouri began phase one of our coronavirus reentry process with a gradual relaxation of social distancing requirements. Businesses began to reopen. Restaurants were allowed to operate with restrictions on seating capacity and increased cleaning requirements. 

Congregations began to reconvene face to face worship as well. Some churches in our area moved quickly, while others were more cautious. Many members of the Dexter Ministerial Alliance continued to worship entirely online, while others began with outdoor worship and gradually moved back into the building. Unfortunately, some congregations did not take precautions seriously enough and we saw a temporary spike in cases after an event at an area church.

Throughout the epidemic I have been grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by a faithful group of elders. We have strived to make our decisions together with an eye toward balancing connection with each other and keeping everyone as safe as possible. There has been regular conversation, prayer, and discernment. The group not always been on exactly the same page, but I have been impressed by how willing people are to state their opinion and to express their concerns. Gradually, we decided to take a first step toward face to face worship with an experimental socially distanced outdoor worship service. 

We chose to start outside because it would be easier to comply with the social distancing requirements in larger space. It was a hot Sunday, but it was still good to see those who were able to attend. Not everything went perfectly. The technology that we had planned to use for continue online streaming overheated and our plans to share worship materials online did not work out as well as we had hoped. Despite this, we learned a lot and were grateful for the opportunity to began to reconnect with those who have been unable to take part in online worship services.

Coming back inside

Last week we decided to move face to face worship inside, but to meet in the Disciple Center, our congregation’s gym/fellowship hall. Because we were unsure how many people would be present, the gym was chosen as the next step because it would also allow for easier social distancing for larger groups than the sanctuary, while still giving us the opportunity for air conditioned space. The chairs were spread out six feet apart, masks were available, singing was restricted, and communion was modified to minimize physical contact. 

We have had slightly larger crowds inside than outside, but still much smaller than our average pre-COVID worship attendance. Again, it was great to see people who have not been able to connect with the online services. Unfortunately, things were still not perfect with the technology. Sound quality is still far from what it needs to be and some people at home had trouble hearing what was being said. 

The sad fact of the matter is that our live streaming efforts have been a learning process throughout the epidemic. Eventually we got in the rhythm of producing online worship at the kitchen table. However, the technical demands of high quality streaming from a large indoor space are far greater. We are talking with companies to get a more professional setup installed as we move back into the sanctuary. It will make a huge difference in allowing those online to truly be a part of what is happening in the worship service.

Baptism in the parking lot

The most memorable part of our first Disciple Center worship service was the opportunity to baptize our newest member of the congregation. Over the past few months I have been working with one of the youth of our church to prepare for her baptism. Originally she was going to receive the sacrament on Easter Sunday, but the coronavirus delayed everything. We continued to meet by Skype and our regular online classes were very much a highlight of my week. 

Once face to face worship resumed we were finally able to make everything official. She made a profession of faith and the service concluded with the congregation gathering around a cattle trough that had been temporarily brought in for the occasion. 

What made it such a hopeful moment is that in so many ways it was the perfect sign of life beginning to resume. We have been isolated for so long and the danger of the virus is not yet gone, but people are beginning to find ways of managing the risk and coming together to support each other in the middle of all the grief, frustration, injustice, and disruption we have experienced over the past few months. 

We still have a long way to go before we are back to anything resembling normal, but I am grateful for the signs of hope that I have had the chance to see firsthand.