Dear friends,
At our meeting on August 18, the church council voted to continue worshipping remotely (using Zoom) through the end of 2020. It was a unanimous decision.
Our unanimity reflects the values of our congregation. We value wellness: choosing to worship in person indoors would risk the health of congregation members. We value our role working for justice and wholeness in the wider community: we do not want to contribute to the spread of a deadly virus. We value inclusivity: worshipping in our sanctuary this fall would exclude many congregation members who are considered “high-risk.” We value creativity: making this decision in advance allows us to draw upon our gifts to create vibrant worship on-line.
It was a unanimous decision, and it was a painful one, coming at a hard time emotionally. Families and teachers are stressed trying to figure out what school means. Many of us feel the heaviness of realizing we will be living with the virus much longer than we had expected.
In our meeting, we talked about what we miss. We miss the healing power of singing together. We miss the informal interactions that often lead to profound conversations. We miss hugs and handshakes and shared meals. We are grieving these losses, and it is important to acknowledge and honor our grief.
The decision makes me sad. I also feel a sense of relief, knowing we won’t have to keep re-making this decision every month. That energy, instead, can go to creating meaningful, inspiring worship. Ideas are already swirling. We will try new twists on long-standing traditions: a virtual Blessing of the Animals service (see article below), sharing of bread recipes for World Communion, a new hymn to express our experience of gratitude in this time (see article below). We will hear newly-recorded music. We will have more opportunities to see and hear members of the congregation in worship. We will keep experimenting with safe ways to gather outdoors and thoughtful ways to provide a virtual option for those gatherings.
For me, the biggest challenge for the fall is strengthening our sense of connection. There is no simple way to replace what happens when we gather in person. How do we create opportunities for those informal interactions that lead to profound connections? How do we become more intentional about reaching out to one another? How do we build intergenerational community without coffee hour conversations around the train table?
I don’t know the answers to these questions. I have come to trust that when we live with the questions, faithfully and patiently, the Spirit will move in our midst, blessing us with the creativity we need to create new paths of connection.
Peace,
Debbie