IN OUR CONGREGATIONS
We will rise up! One church’s work in welcoming members back
W
hen the pandemic first slinked into the United States in March, and then slammed most of the nation broadside in April, we all watched the whole social and economic system of America come to a halt as we lost the wind in our sails. We seemed almost dead in the water. All I could think of that Sunday morning on March 15, 2020, was, “You have got to be kidding me”—what an implausible moment. (Hey, I had a pretty good sermon for that Sunday, but that was lost in the shuffle.) We are months away from those March days, but we are still in the battle for the vessel we so desire to keep afloat. Today is a new day, a different day ,but still the Lord’s Day!! Let me offer a few reflections on reopening face-to-face worship in northeastern Ohio: The church at Dover reopened her doors for “face/mask to face/mask worship on Sunday, June 21, after 14 weeks of sequestered church connections. The church has been very slow and deliberate with this reopening. We have not been in a rush and have allowed the data to dictate the pace. We placed simple guidelines that all adhered to including: • If you have a fever, or do not feel well. Stay home and watch the service online. • Mask wearing in worship and in the building is required. If you cannot abide by that, then stay home and watch the service online. • We will have no congregational or choral singing, only a soloist set apart from the gathering. 6
The Moravian
