Ministering in the Time of Pandemic

As it continues to be clearer each day about the risk of assembling in groups, I'm seeing churches wrestling with how to best be the body of Christ in a world where bodies need to stay at least 6 feet apart.

Some churches may not have as many issues.  Small congregations may be able to go back to some variation of their previous lives.  Many small congregations worship in very big spaces that were built last century when the congregation was bigger.  They could space themselves out.

But even small congregations, like mine, will wrestle with the question of whether or not it's smart to come back.  If we can't sing, if we can't figure out the eucharist, do we really need to risk being together as a group in the same physical space?

Many of us are growing weary of being the virtual body of Christ.  And then there's the question of who can't join us virtually.  How do we include members of our congregations who can't access the technology?

Some churches, like mine, will send a DVD of the service, for those who can't join us during the livestream.  This morning, I read about a church that does some sort of telephone call.  It's not a Zoom meeting, but an old-fashioned conference call.

I've also heard about church members who deliver a print out of the service, like a bulletin for those of you old enough to remember church bulletins, but with the sermon typed out.  You could drop such a thing in the U.S. Mail, but this morning I read about church members who deliver in person.  They stay safely apart, but it gives the housebound member a chance to see another face and perhaps chat from a distance.

As we move through these days/months/years of this pandemic, I hope that we keep a record of some of the important ways we tried to be inclusive.  I hope we keep the successful ones.