LCC congregations reach out: Online ministry during the COVID-19 crisis

by Michelle Heumann

Across the country, Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) congregations are united in a quest to deliver the Word to those who need to hear it in a time when gathering together in person is risky, and, in most places, currently banned—not because of religious persecution but because of the potential to share a dangerous virus with vulnerable members of our community. At present, the best way to continue worshipping together without spreading the virus is virtually, and many congregations are making good use of technology that wasn’t available to Martin Luther in his day.

Grace Lutheran Church in Drumheller, Alberta, was one of the first LCC congregations to cancel in-person worship services and begin livestreaming. A small town with an outspoken epidemiologist who warned residents to prepare for a crisis, Drumheller cancelled town operated events of more than fifty people on March 13, 2020. Grace held its first live-streamed worship service on March 15, and the video has since been viewed more than 700 times. Rev. Scott Gamble, pastor of Grace Lutheran, says that “people are hungry for hope and an anchor,” and that while worshipping virtually is new for most people, “we can be the church in lots of different ways and in lots of different places.” Their live-stream setup is low-key: a cell phone and Facebook Live, with Rev. Gamble suggesting that “frequency is better than formality.”

Rev. Clint Magnus, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, has been recording sermons for about the past six years. He began when the wildfires devastated the community of Fort McMurray, Alberta, and the president of the LCC congregation there asked Rev. Magnus to provide recorded sermons for their worship services. On March 22, 2020, after in-person worship services were suspended, he changed the format of the videos slightly to include all the readings, the sermon, a Creed, prayers, the Lord’s Prayer, and a benediction. That first video now has nearly 2,000 views.

“It is in a time of crisis that people turn to the Lord,” Rev. Magnus explains, “and that is when we must be bold and courageous to proclaim God’s love in Jesus Christ.” He encourages all congregations to post sermons and devotions online, regardless of the number of viewers. “Even if one person watches and is blessed, it is worth it,” he said. “It is the Lord’s work that we do, and it is He who works through us.”

In Simcoe, Ontario, Rev. Dan Abraham, pastor of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, is using Zoom to live-stream Sunday worship. An affordable conference call program, Zoom allows members to see each other and visit before and after the service. It also allows for the sermon to be recorded and posted online later. Aleta Abraham, whom Rev. Abraham calls a “techno guru,” set up the program, and they are pleased with the results. It’s user-friendly, making possible a number of different ministry opportunities, including “Bedtime Stories with Pastor Dan,” so that even the youngest members of the congregation have some personal contact with their pastor. Livestreaming is also allowing some homebound seniors to reconnect, and re-involving young families who haven’t been to worship in a while. Meeting together in a conference call setting at the same time as the usual service encourages people to keep up the habit of worshipping together, and its ability to reach people who would not have been there otherwise is something they hope to continue.

Zoom is also being used on the west coast, where the Greater Vancouver Circuit Counsellor Rev. Laverne Hautz is holding regular Zoom meetings with circuit pastors for mutual encouragement and support. He sets one day a week with several times that he’ll be online, and the other pastors are invited to join in as their schedules allow. His own congregation, Hope Lutheran Church, is live-streaming Sunday worship on Facebook. On Mondays he posts a Bible verse called “Hope for Today,” and on Wednesdays he posts a brief encouragement video. On Fridays, they share prayer requests and suggestions. The church also has a phone circle and a prayer team at work.

Vancouver Island Circuit Counsellor Rev. Fraser Coltman reports that for their March 19 Winkel, pastors met using Microsoft Teams. “The meeting was a real help to the active pastors of the circuit, who needed the opportunity to compare thoughts and plans with each other,” he said. The circuit is also home to four retired pastors, and “one of them, who cares for his wife at home, was able to join us and participate in the meeting for the first time in many months.” This was such a blessing that they hope to continue involving pastors who cannot travel by using Microsoft Teams in the future as well.

In Ottawa, Rev. Dr. Bryan J. King, pastor at St. Luke Lutheran Church, is using Zoom for Bible studies and meetings, and YouTube to live-stream Sunday and Wednesday services, as well as a daily devotion. He reports that “‘since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,’ this has been a wonderful way to keep God’s people focused on God’s Word and prayer.” Each member of the church counsel has also been given a list of congregants to call, which will keep them in regular contact, and allow them to “keep the idea of ‘congregation’ alive in times of isolation.” Rev. King had already been posting sermons to YouTube for the past two years, so the switch to livestreaming was easier than it might otherwise have been. Still there is a learning curve; the biggest issue he has encountered so far has been producing quality audio—something which can be remedied with a good microphone.

Rev. Glenn Worcester, one of the pastors at Peace Lutheran Church in Winnipeg, reports that his church is live-streaming worship services and holding virtual meetings and Bible studies. “Because we’re spending less time with people, we’re spending more time learning how to be with them online,” he says. “We’re all learning how to do things, and that can be time-consuming, depending on how fancy you want to get.” And even when the technology works just fine during testing, issues can still pop up during a live-stream. On the other hand, the technology is a blessing, as Peace has seen people from across the world joining them in worship. “It has been able to bring us together, even though it’s not face-to-face,” he says. “And knowing that this has been able to reach people that we haven’t reached, it’s something that will be able to last in the future, even when things go back to ‘normal.’”

Rev. Worcester points out that while “it’s easy to see what everyone else is doing that and say we should be doing that too,” he encourages congregations to consider what will “be utilized by the people you are trying to serve,” as each parish is unique in its needs.

As for issues that can come up during a live-stream, Rev. Timothy Schneider, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Amherstburg, Ontario, reported that one Sunday “the audio of our recording cut out right around the start of the sermon and I didn’t know it until I was finished and had sung the Offertory. My wife ended up packing up the kids in a flash and doing the five-minute drive to church to let me know and try to fix it.” However, despite the technical difficulties, live-streaming “has also allowed some people who would not have attended such things as Wednesday Lent services to hear the Word of God. I have also had discussions about continuing to live-stream even after the lockdown is complete… In this way it has been a great blessing.”

Rev. Aaron Astley, pastor of a two-point parish in the Hamilton Circuit (Ontario), is pre-recording services and uploading them to YouTube in order for them to be as easy to access as possible, even though it requires a bit more work to produce than a live-stream. Rev. Astley says that “in order to try and capture a bit of the sense of community that live-streaming provides, I asked members to try and watch the recording of the service at or around 10:00 a.m. It has been neat to see people who haven’t attended church for quite some time, and members eagerly sharing the recorded services with their friends and family members. These are blessings that make it all worth it!”

In Dryden, Ontario, where Rev. Alex Timm is pastor of a three-point parish, and in his first year of ministry, “switching to streaming services and phone calls has made things easier with less travel and minimal visiting, but it is not the same as the regular in-person interaction with the people.” Still, Rev. Timm believes it’s a blessing that so many churches have improved their online presence saying: “It is a gift from God that our technology is at the point where things such as video streaming, easy website design, and so forth have allowed for the continual proclamation of the Gospel to our own people and also to those who are searching for the hope that only Christ Himself can provide.” He hopes that “this forced ‘Lenten fast’ from the company of one another leads all people to realize how much they value gathering, and strengthens our Lord’s Church in the time ahead.”

Rev. Alex Klages, pastor of a two-point parish in the Portage Circuit (Manitoba), is pre-recording services, and alternating between which of the two sanctuaries he records in. One of the locations has no internet at all, he notes, so live-streaming from there isn’t an option. For Rev. Klages, the decision to record services in both buildings rather than just one is a way “to honour both congregations and their unique properties.”

In Alberta’s Elk Island Circuit, Rev. Vince Moore (Christ Lutheran Church, Fort Saskatchewan), and Rev. Jeff Dul (Bethany Lutheran Church, Fort Saskatchewan and Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Bruderheim) have teamed up to provide one pre-recorded service for the three congregations each Sunday and at mid-week. Bringing together their different skills and technical equipment allows them to share the work. They alternate for each service who is serving as preacher and who is serving as the liturgist. Rev. Moore reports that the approach has been well-received. “Our plan is to continue for the duration of the quarantine,” he says, “and hopefully we will be able to grow a bit in what content we can offer.”

Shirley Keller, a member at Zion Lutheran Church in Dashwood, rejoiced that “pastors are finding a way through all the technology to reach us right in our homes with God’s Word.” “God is showing us new methods to take the message to the people via a very popular and accepted tool at a time when we are most ready to receive it,” she continued. “This technology has the potential to revolutionize ministry, and it may even revitalize the church.”

Another member of Zion, Kathy Birkett, reflected on how this online outreach has blessed her. “As someone who has socially isolated for the second winter in a row because of my weak immunity, I have been very pleased to see all the options for worship services online,” she said. “I watched my own church’s live-stream and it brought me to tears to feel a little closer to my brothers and sisters in Christ whom I haven’t seen since October, and to hear my pastor live.”

Worshipping online is certainly not a replacement for worshipping in person— the sacraments and faceto-face fellowship are missing, as is the great congregational singing. But one blessing coming out of this situation is that the internet has never seen so much regular LCC content, as churches work to overcome technological challenges and share the Word with the online world. There are clear opportunities for outreach in the future. In the meantime, congregations are providing real comfort to those who need it now.

Michelle Heumann is Regional News Editor for The Canadian Lutheran magazine.

Is your congregation unable to offer a worship service online?

Visit www.lutheranchurch.ca/ covid-19/ for video services and devotions from LCC President Timothy Teuscher and Mission Executive Mark L. Smith, as well as for other devotional resources.