Stay Home Missouri order expires
Re-re-relearning church
The start of May has been something of a blur. The governor allowed the Stay Home Missouri order to expire. It was replaced at the local level by a county-wide social distancing order through the end of the month. The new order is far less restrictive than the old guidance and churches and business have been desperately trying to discern a way to balance our competing needs to stay connected and keep each other safe.
The uncertainty of how to do that, along with the, frankly, mixed messages we have been getting from various levels of government have made that a challenging endeavor. Learning how to ride the wave to reopen has in many ways been as stressful as learning how to operate in a socially distanced environment was in the first place.
Because we are a congregational system of government, I reached out to the elders of the congregation to gather their thoughts. We had a good electronic conversation, along with a night of prayer. In the end came the decision to remain exclusively online for another week. We had pondered the option of putting a tech team in the sanctuary, but the elders decided that extra caution was still appropriate. On the other hand, other congregations in town took the opposite approach and decided to come together while being extremely cautious. I am looking forward to learning more about how they did and what their experiences were like.
An extremely bright spot in the church world came this week with the organization of the Dexter Ministerial Alliance National Day of Prayer video. Instead of the face to face prayer service we normally host at city hall, the member churches decided to create a video that could be shared on social media. We involved clergy from the community, as well as local government, business, and educational leaders. It debuted on Thursday and was very well received. In many ways, it was probably able to reach far more people than the traditional prayer vigil ever has. More than anything, I am glad for the visible demonstration of unity it provided for our local church community.
Good and bad, life goes on
In the middle of the struggle about how to best organize church in this time, regular life goes on. One of the challenges for many people right now is how to handle the health crises that come up on a regular basis. At the moment it is impossible for family members to visit their loved ones in the hospital or nursing homes. Elective surgeries have been delayed. Doctor visits occur by telehealth video conferences. All of this adds to the stress and frustration that is already apparent. Each of these situations has directly impacted several people of our congregation.
More joyous events have also been impacted. Prom was cancelled. The Dexter High School class of 2020 held its graduation outdoors in the parking lot. The event began with a parade where all the seniors were driven around town by their parents. The school administrators all wore masks and distributed diplomas one by one with people standing far apart. It was not the culmination of an educational career that anyone would have wanted, but I am glad that the administration was able to put together something so meaningful for the graduates.
The darkest moment of the week came with the news of Ahmaud Arbery’s killing rose to national prominence. As ashamed as I am to admit, for me his death was buried under all of the coronavirus headlines over the past two months. It was only when the video was leaked and the story gained more traction with the national media that I became aware of the injustice that had taken place. I wrote a brief column and participated in Friday’s I Run With Ahmaud national awareness raising campaign.
That is not enough by any means, but I pray that this event shocks enough white people out of the denial that racism is still a constant problem in our society. I also pray that I will have the bravery to more deliberately denounce it when I encounter it in my own daily life.
Overall, I was able to make it through this week with my sanity mostly intact. The longer this epidemic has drug on I am noticing that more and more people are struggling with motivation and focus. It seems that the quarantine and isolation are starting to overwhelm many of the people I talk to. Individuals are feeling isolated and vulnerable. It has left them without any sense of connectedness.
Some people have described feeling like they are having to take on the entire world, not just the virus, by themselves. Instead of being able to depend on a community, individuals are forced to be parents, teachers, patients, caregivers, entertainers, and health experts all at the same time. There is no outlet and no end in sight. It is exhausting and some days too much for people to handle.
Finding hope in the body of Christ
This is why I am so grateful for the congregation I serve. In the middle of everything, people in the church have managed to stay connected as best they can. Individuals have been reaching out via telephone, card, and social media. Others have been delivering groceries. There is a faithful crew of prayer warriors gathering throughout the week and volunteers have stepped forward to make sure that worship continues even when we cannot be together face to face.
It is not perfect. Some people are left out by technology isolated in nursing homes. I long desperately for the day that we are able to safely come back together face to face. In the meantime, however, it is the cadre of faithful Disciples who have been so instrumental in keeping me grounded and motivated. Whenever I find my energy fading, pausing to give thanks for what God is doing in this place, helps restore my joy.
This the body of Christ at work. I have no idea where the future is going to take us, either in the short run or in the long term, but I know that the Holy Spirit will be walking with us every step of the way. It is my prayer that everyone is able to find a body of believers that supports them not only through this epidemic, but through all the stops along life’s journey.
