Hold Fast
A week ago, our staff gathered together to share lunch and talk about the fall. Nothing we haven't done many times before, but everything was different. We met outside, masked up, we socially distanced; one staff joined us via Zoom because she is teaching her child at home. That's a staff planning lunch in the era of Covid 19. But what hadn't changed was the sense of family, of love for one another. It was a joy to sit with them and talk about the honor of being called to lead a church community in the era of Covid 19.
It's been a challenging year for all of us. Relationships are strained as we face a lot of uncertainty. Will schools open? If so, for how long? Will businesses reopen? If so, can they make enough to stay open given the restrictions for gatherings? Some have already closed doors, families are struggling to break even. Every mobile market we host at Eastgate Elementary School has brought more people and more people willing to wait in line for a food box. The economy, retirement, the list goes on and on. There's a lot of uncertainty, which brings spiritual questions and concerns. I don't think there's been a time when the church wasn't needed more.
Like St. Paul moving from Jewish to Gentiles communities, we've sought to adapt to meet our community's changing needs over the last five or six months. Online worship, a system of Zoom meetings for every one of our areas of ministry. We've raised $90,000 to help feed and sustain local families in need and also our friends in the mountains of Honduras. I'm so proud of our church as you've met our call to Live, Love, and Grow as Disciples of Jesus Christ.
As we move into the changes the fall brings, we are called to adapt even more. I'd like to share some of those changes.
As part of our Fall Kick-Off, we are very excited to announce our plans to gather people together in community. Our church consultant Reggie McNeal recently told me he has found the average return to in-person church gatherings is roughly 20% of their worship attendance before Covid 19. That is based on his own non-scientific poll, but it aligns with what many other churches report. Basically, that tells us that not everyone is ready to go full bore, and that's ok. Throughout the centuries, the church has emphasized small worshiping groups meeting in various contexts, from homes and sanctuaries and parks and gyms and everything in between.
We are still in Phase One; however, some of the guidelines for churches have shifted a great deal. We can host 100 person gatherings outside and 50 people inside. Once we move to Phase Two, we can host 200 people inside.
We recognize that not everyone is ready to come back to gather. We are planning three types of options for almost every group in our community. We want to host not only large worship gatherings but also smaller gatherings and online options. This includes our "normal" gathered worship services as well as opportunities to gather, worship, pray and study the Bible in our main ministry areas such as Men's, Women's, Young Adults, Youth, and Small Groups.
Our prayer is that everyone will find an opportunity that fits their needs and allows them to gather and worship God during this season.
Beginning next week, we plan on moving back to the sanctuary for online worship. We can have up to 50 people join; however, that number includes all volunteers such as the worship team and tech team. Just like grocery stores open an hour early for seniors and others who need to take extra precautions, we want to provide an opportunity to worship in-person for people who need greater safeguards. Please contact the church to discuss this option and see if it is right for you.
Beginning September 16, we will start holding Wednesday night outdoor worship in the courtyard; please RSVP at our webpage. Again the 100 number includes volunteers, so we are limiting the number to 80. We are certainly ready to add evening gatherings as needed. Wednesday night gatherings will be live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube.
This fall, we will emphasize worship and prayer as well as several book studies in our Adult and Youth ministries. Please contact the church or check out our Facebook and Web Site for more information.
Part of our strategy is to return to early church house worship in our Small Group ministry. Again, we will stress worship and prayer as we study the book, Get Your Life Back by John Eldridge. This book was beneficial for me this past summer as I dealt with my own struggles of balancing this digital world we find ourselves in. God spoke to me through Eldridge's book; I believe it will be a lifeline for you as well.
I spent a great deal of time praying about our Fall sermon series. One of my favorite studies is the seven letters to the seven churches from the Book of Revelation. I believe they have never been as pertinent in our life as they are right now. Whatever our context, we need to hold fast to our faith and not live in fear, compromise, or apathy. Instead, we need to remember the love we had in our first steps as disciples.
Above all, in considering and making our steps forward, Hillspring's leadership is committed to following three general rules from the Wesleyan tradition:
Do no harm
Do all the good you can
Stay in love with God
This world needs the church more than ever; I am so excited to begin a new season with my family at Hillspring.
Your pastor,
Bryan White