Why are we opening in-person services?
by Robert Krumrey
I’ve been calling this upcoming Sunday the “Grand Re-Opening” in our church staff meeting which really isn’t accurate. Truth is, MH never closed, at least not as a church. I’ve been amazed to see how well everyone has adjusted to the new normal of virtual church. It’s been a really pleasant surprise to see God work through this time to connect people in new ways because of the change in format. I just got off the phone with a dad in our congregation who expressed his gratitude to me for having the opportunity to grow in an on-line small group after he and his wife put their kids down for bed on Tuesday nights. Not only that, we continue to hear from others that their friends and family are tuning in to our Sunday services on a regular basis and wanting to enter into spiritual conversations because of it. As per usual, Jesus is King and is advancing his kingdom through the gospel ministry of his church.
While all of this is really positive, we have also experienced the distance that can grow within a church family when they can’t gather together on a weekly basis for worship and fellowship. It’s hard to keep connected when people can’t see each other in the context of the weekly rhythms of church life as taught in scripture. Part of the essence of what it means to be church is to be a “gathered” body of believers. We read this in places like the book of Hebrews:
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Gathering is a command in Scripture and is done throughout the world by our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in spite of the danger of arrest, torture, even death. It is something so important that it’s even contained in the word that is used to describe the New Testament people of God - the greek word “ecclesia”. This word was used in the Greco-Roman world to describe legislative bodies that would gather to deliberate on various pieces of legislation. After gathering they would then scatter back to their home districts to do life alongside their constituents. This is very much the model of the American system of government. This word was then co-opted by Jesus and later the Apostles to describe God’s New Testament people. They are to be both a gathered and a scattered people. A tight-knit family that is on mission in the world. So why haven’t we been gathering?
The COVID crisis has been a tough one to navigate. On one hand you want to continue to gather and if our town government told us to stop because they were opposing the gospel we would continue to meet even under threat of persecution. While a few Christian groups tried to make this crisis out to be persecution against the church, this really wasn’t in that category. We were being asked to stop gathering because meeting would endanger both ourselves and others in our community. This seemed like a no brainer in terms of decision making. The right decision was to stop meeting to keep our members safe, keep our neighbors safe, and submit to a governmental directive that was not in opposition to the gospel.
According to governmental policy in MA, we could have started meeting a month ago, but we felt it was wiser to wait until we could see how the infection rate was impacted by Phase 1 and 2 of reopening. So far, at least for Massachusetts and for Hampshire County, things seem to be going well. The infection rate and death rate continue to decrease. Because of this and the scriptural priority given to gathering, we feel that it’s time to try a measured approach to reopening in-person services. Here are some of the things we are implementing to keep you and your neighbors safe:
Entry is by reservation (this helps us prepare for who is coming and have a record in case we need to do contact tracing)
Everyone must wear a mask except for those presenting from the front
We will keep 6 feet of social distancing
Those presenting from the front are at least 12 feet from the congregation
Windows will be open and fans will be circulating air
All pre and post service socializing will be outside
There will be a designated entry (front double doors) and exits (2 side doors)
Traffic flow will be clearly marked in the building (for example the path to the bathroom and back and one-way stairway designations)
Hand sanitizer will be provided
Building will be sanitized after the service
There will be no in-person kids ministry at this time
Coloring pages will be provided for kids who do attend with their parents (adults can color too!)
We know that for some in our congregation, even these precautions won’t be enough to make in-person gathering a viable option. We want to say that in no way do we think you are in the wrong or disobeying Jesus or anything like that. We know that especially for those who may be immunocompromised or have small children there is no amount of hand sanitizer that will make this a safe option for you. We want you to know that you are loved and missed and that we long for the day that we can all safely be together. Because of these dynamics, we will also keep our on-line services as is (9am) and continue to provide the MH kids Zoom teaching (8:30am). This means that instead of merely putting a camera in the back of the sanctuary so you can be a spectator of those that are able to gather, we are keeping the format we’ve been using so far with as interactive of an experience as we can make it including a virtual foyer after the service. We hope and pray that what we are offering in terms of Sunday services will continue to be used by God to grow each of you in Christ and continue to advance Jesus’ mission of making disciples of all nations. We’ll see you (either in-person or online) on Sunday!