LAMPLIGHTER Fall 2020
Ten Weeks, Countless Stories . . . by Kristi Meyer Self-isolation. Quarantine. Shutdown. Flattening the curve. Social distancing. These new vocabulary terms are a microcosm of how life has changed for every one of us—one of the biggest changes being the suspension of in-person worship services for 10 weeks this spring. For the vast majority of our congregation, worshiping virtually was an experience like none other. For those of us there in person, planning and executing worship services for an absent congregation was equally strange. But being able to transition quickly to onlineonly worship clearly shows the resources that God has showered upon St. John’s. “Whether it was our ‘Quarantine Choir’ or other musicians or AV operator, it highlighted the efforts of the support staff and volunteer network that St. John’s has built—that we were able to still do worship well even without a whole congregation there,” says Pastor Eric Schroeder. From the very beginning, online services were intended to replicate “normal” worship services as much as possible. This meant recruiting a small group to simulate the congregation (albeit in a socially distanced way). “With separate microphones from different parts of the sanctuary, we were able to get what sounded like a full church without having many people present,” explains Pastor
Kyle Bitter. That small group quickly began doing more than just hymns and congregational responses. “We normally have choirs or small groups singing psalms and anthems, and we wanted to try to preserve that as much as possible,” says Pastor Bitter. What couldn’t be preserved, however, were the people physically sitting in the pews. Sermons that were prepared in the same way and that proclaimed the same law/gospel message were preached to an empty church, making sermon delivery very different. “Even though people aren’t responding and contributing out loud, there’s a lot of interaction that goes on during a sermon,” says Pastor Schroeder. “Missing out on that was probably the hardest part.” Even more difficult than preaching to an empty church was the lack of personal contact and interaction with the flock our pastors are called to shepherd. Pastor Joel Leyrer explains: “You’re used to seeing people on a regular basis before and after church services and touching base with them, and it was difficult not seeing people. Just the normal, commonplace social interaction with 400 people over the course of a weekend can’t be replicated through phone calls or anything other than corporate worship.” continued on page 3 . . .