I am Not a Cheerleader Today: Part II

So we had our outdoor communion service yesterday.  It was our third attempt at such an event and you know...I think we are getting the hang of it.  I made it up to the church early--like I used to--in time to run through the brief words I was planning to say, It was All Saint's Day.  The church, of course, was quiet.  It always is at that hour.  the fact that we still use parts of the sanctuary for storage reinforced the feeling a bit.

Then the rest of the "crew" arrived.  We set up with relative ease on the steps of the church.  There was the communion table we always use, and the bread (for the first time individually wrapped communion wafers).  Of course we also had the wine and the "wine". We always use the single-serving "little cups" for communion so--as long as we don't pass the plate and instead have folks step up to the table--they are naturally distanced.  Everything was laid out on their respective trays the day before.  They were maximally safe. 

the whole thing made for an odd combination of high and low church.  Partly we were doing what we usually do.  Partly we were a bit "off".  However I would say we were comfortably off.  Nothing felt alien.

Finally, we decided on a "sound system".  We had a microphone and a used practice amp that I bought a few years ago for $25.  The goal was to reduce any yelling the officiants had to do.  I yell when I am just chatting with someone.  I yell even louder if I think people cannot hear me.

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Then people began to arrive.  We waited the start time a bit so that folks having trouble getting settled could do so.  Most people stood.  We grabbed a chair for one person who has trouble standing.  We grabbed a mask for one person who forgot theirs. Then we got rolling.  The service may have been a bit casual for All Saints and it was definitely shorter--slightly under 25 minutes.  However, it was the reason and the ritual for gathering.  Truthfully we hung around for well over an hour in the end.  It was good to see folks in 3D.

This is the sort of thing I am willing to be a cheerleader for.  As a church we are affiliated with the UUA and the UCC but really we are a community church and Congregationalist in its broadest definition.  Worship isn't a discrete moment that happens in a specific place or at a specific time.  It is what happens when we live our lives together as a community and a congregation.  That is part of the tension, sometimes, when we think about how to respond to the pandemic.  In another tradition--though I am actually having trouble thinking of any--perhaps there is a reason to elevate the "show" of worship over the communal needs of members.  We are not a part of that tradition, though.  We are part of one where we assess the needs of the people before putting folks at risk.  the body and the spirit are connected after all.

Yes, there are reasons why we might want to step--as a group--through those doors and into the sanctuary.  There are issues of mental health, which I take very seriously.  There are issues of church growth which I am not sure rise to the same level right now.  I believe--and I know I have said it before--that God is Love.  Sometimes we show our love for each other and for God by being together.  Sometimes we show it by being apart.  Sometimes we show it by standing on the church steps to take communion on a cold, snowy, November day.  Part of our job--not just my job but all of our jobs--is to lead with that. We are opening our hearts during this dark time to the Divine and to our fellow, fragile, human beings.

Back when I, my ministry, and Facebook were young, there used to be a big fight every year in the online "clergysphere" about whether it was ever appropriate to cancel worship during a snow storm.  Many people--including many religious liberals who served churches that closed in July--insisted that church remain open saying, "God must be worshipped in God's sanctuary".  What a tiny God that must be to live in our tiny buildings. I never found that argument to be terribly compelling. 

God is not lonely.  God doesn't need us to come visit. God is everywhere.  Love is everywhere and we must adapt to what nature throws at us, knowing that the Divine presence is, in fact present wherever we may be in our storms and trials,  Let us seek that Divine Love.  We sure do need it now.