Covid-19 - staying
local when it comes to church
As Covid-19 restrictions
continue, most of us are doing virtual church. (This option is quite impossible for many majority-world Christians for whom the restrictions mean no church,
but that is another story.)
We miss much. We miss
the joy of seeing familiar faces in the flesh, exchanging hugs and handshakes, reading
body language, singing together and sharing in the sacraments. We face the
danger of being distracted zoombies as we have yet another enforced bout of
screen time (or is that ‘scream time’). It’s
not the same and not as good as being there in the flesh.
However, there are
also big opportunities as the world virtually opens before us. We can go to
church anywhere that puts out a signal (or nowhere, if we want to break the
habit of meeting together and not get caught).
Let’s face it – most of
us can find a better preacher, better technology and better music if we prowl around
the internet looking for a church more to our taste. There is no need to put up
with the usual bunch of people and their mindless conversation, along with insipid
church coffee and that preacher whose lines are familiar to us after years
sitting under the same voice. And perhaps there is a place for visiting other
churches as we seek more frequent rich feeding in these spiritually needy
times.
However, there is a
case for mainly staying local and continuing with the church we belong to. To
me it’s a joy to see the pictures of our familiar church building appear to
give a ‘before and after’ physical bracket to the virtual service – it’s a reminder
of what was and yet will be. Our pastor
knows us and his introduction to the Sunday gathering connects into our lives in
our local community. Familiar faces read the Bible and present music from our
regular play list. Each week a church
member known to us is interviewed about how they are going in life and they
then lead a pastoral prayer that reflects knowledge of our people, our church and its local activities and wider projects. The ministry of the word in the preaching of Scripture comes from a pastor who knows us and can explain
and apply the Scripture into our lives.
Doubtless there’s a
slicker presentation, more eloquent preaching and such like elsewhere on the web.
However, those other churches are not there to pastor us locals. They won’t be
there for us after Covid-19. They won’t make the regular phone calls that our
church leadership are making to check on all members. Dropping into someone else’s
virtual church is a bit like visiting another church when away from home for
work or holidays. It’s better than not attending at all, but never the same as
going to the church where we are pastored with ongoing knowledge and concern.
And that’s why I’m
going to my local this Sunday.
