An opinion article posted in The Presbyterian Outlook is worth a look.
The author is C. Christopher Smith of the Region News Service. He takes a closer look at how the Covid-19 pandemic has already changed how we ‘do church.” Below is an excerpt followed by a link to the complete article.
(RNS) — The coronavirus pandemic has quickly swept the globe, throwing just about every human institution into chaos. Faith communities are no exception.
With gatherings restricted in size or prohibited altogether, many houses of worship are fighting to stay connected, rapidly weighing technological options to keep as many people as possible engaged.
This involves a a good deal of trial and error. Congregational leaders find themselves relying on multiple digital tools — some of which they have never used before — to connect themselves to their members and to keep their members caring for each other.
As stressful as these times are, they have provided an extraordinary opportunity in my Christian community to reflect on our identity and mission as the church, and to imagine ways of being more connected than ever with our fellow church members.
In normal times, most churches plow forward without much reflection on identity and mission.
Now they have the chance to do something new, and I challenge churches to take a wee bit of time to reflect together on questions like these:
What is the church? A building? A particular gathering? A community?
What is worship? What really matters in a worship service? And given the limits forced on us by the pandemic, which technological tools can best help us embody our identity and mission?
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