Wednesday, June 10, 2020
“Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.” (Hebrews 1o:25 The Message Bible) 

                I admire the optimistic way the provincial government thinks. It is going to allow churches to re-open their worship services at 30% capacity.  That would be a considerable up-tick in attendance, especially  in the two down-town churches for which I have had the privilege of being their pastor. Those sanctuaries were designed to hold  300 to 500 people. I might have sold my soul for a 30% capacity on any regular basis. Social distancing has been easily practiced in many old churches, long before Covid19 took its toll.

                It will be interesting to watch what happens to congregations once these restrictions are lifted.  So many churches, like downtown and inner city ones, small country churches, small urban churches, were struggling for survival before the pandemic. These three or four months of no activity, save for viral church connections, could be a fatal blow for many. I can’t imagine that financial giving has kept up with the normal costs that don’t go away like salaries, utilities, heat, etc.

                So many of these old-style, long established churches are lovingly supported mostly by seniors, both financially and through their attendance. But I suspect that they, as a high-risk group, will be extremely cautious, if not somewhat fearful, before they return to a public event like a worship service.

                I am not sure what the new normal will be for churches overall, but it will be very different.

                I must confess that since retirement I have not been a very active church attender, even before the virus. After 40 years in pastoral ministry it was nice to reclaim selfishly Sunday mornings for while, but then it became a habit. I make my excuse that I am too liberal for the local Baptist churches and too conservative for some of the more progressive churches. We have looked around a little but the one church we enjoy attending is in Whitby, Whitby Baptist Church, a little too far away for regular visits, especially in winter. (If you’re reading this, Ross, you owe me lunch for product placement!)

                But my poor excuses make me think of the saying, if you are looking for the perfect church, once you join, it isn’t perfect anymore. Or perhaps the old Groucho Marx line that I am not sure I would want to join any organization that would take me in as a member.

                This isn’t the time to rag on all that may be wrong about churches. I still believe that a healthy church is vital for personal spiritual growth and vitality. Suffice to say that I got burned out by the politics, the selfishness (including my own) and the bureaucratization of church life.  I dealt with too many unnecessary church battles when I was an Area Minister. So I am cautious about getting re-involved anywhere. I confess to being just a tad cynical.

                Excuses.  We all make excuses for not going to church on Sunday.

Our text above urges that avoiding worship is a slippery slope. I much admire the writer’s definition of church: encouraging love and helping out, spurring each other on. He is not pointing fingers at anyone but me. It is a message for all of us, of course, but it is reminding me that it is my responsibility to love, support, encourage and urge on the people with whom I share fellowship. It doesn’t say that I am to sit in my not-so comfortable pew and expect others to spiritually wait on me hand and foot.

                So when we finally emerge from our cocoons, I will be making a more concerted effort to re-connect. If we need anything right now, after all this is behind us, is the support, the encouragement, the love, the friendship of others. I need to part of the solution, as they say, not part of the problem.

                What about you? 

Dale