Let’s be straight: congregational singing is awkward now. If you come to church on Sunday, you’re going to be singing through a mask, surrounded by…empty space. It’s weird. And if you’ve been tuning on online, I’m pretty confident you definitely feel this. Church music piped through your TV just isn’t the same.
We’re in a strange place. And it’s temping to withdraw from the uncomfortable. But you shouldn’t. Here’s why.
How does church happen in a pandemic? This is a question we’ve all been wresting with these past four months. Now that we’re beginning to reopen on a limited basis, changing expectations and practices once more, it’s worth considering the question afresh. How does church happen when we’re sort of reopened?
On May 20th, we released our Village Together plan—a five phase plan to reopen Village safely and wisely. On Friday, May 29, Illinois and Village officially moved in to phase three, permitting groups of 10 or fewer to meet with proper social distancing protocols in place. However, on Thursday, May 28, Governor Pritzker released new guidelines for houses of worship, and explained that these guidelines were not mandatory, but rather recommended as “best practices” for resuming worship services. And so, in light of these two things—moving into phase three and the new guidance for churches—what’s next for Village? Are we ready to go? Or do we continue on with our plan?
As we move into week 11 of this pandemic, now that school is done, stores are still restricted, many activities are cancelled and the summer looming ahead—how can we see this summer as a time of middle ground? A time of refreshment and rest; of creative play and work; a time for family discipleship and ministry? Many of us have the extra time now. How will we use it?
Christmas, and the advent season leading up to it, serves as a rich time of reflection for Jesus’ people. The incarnation—the act of God the Son taking on our humanity—is an astounding event, one worthy of our attention and focus on an annual basis. Nothing like it has ever happened before, and the significance of its happening can hardly be overstated.
This Sunday we will gather together at Village to sing, pray and read Scripture together. And after that, a pastor will get up and begin preaching. For some of you, this may be the highlight of the morning; for others it may be the most difficult part. After all, where else in our lives do we sit there and listen to some guy talk for 35 minutes?
