Some Thoughts on Our Regathering
Consider This…
In a few days, Christ Church is going to reopen for weekend services after 14 weeks.
14 weeks. It has certainly been a season like no other.
As we finalize plans for this weekend, I was thankful to come across this article by Megan Hill. She reminds us there may be a different feel around church coming out of the height of the pandemic, but the essential character of the church has not changed.
She affirms confidently:
“But, in all the important ways, nothing changed. We are still the people of God, gathered in the presence of God, to bring glory to God. We still affirm his righteous rule by living under his command. We still love one another with the same love with which the Father loved the Son (John 17:26). We still testify to the truth and power of the gospel before a watching world. Throughout redemptive history, God’s people have gathered to worship him in all kinds of situations—many of them less than ideal. They worshipped together as slaves in Egypt and exiles in Babylon, as wanderers in the wilderness and as objects of Roman persecution. The church in a pandemic joins their faithful company. We may be six feet apart, but we are still the church.”
There will be a “new normal” regarding some cleaning and health protocols. There will be a thorough plan for cleaning the building leading into the weekend and between services. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the building.
There will be some temporary adjustments. People will be wearing masks. Seats will be spread out differently. No coffee and donuts.
Those are all peripheral practices and forms that are healthy or helpful during this season, but the fundamental reality of who we are as a church has not changed in any way. There is no new normal for who we are. Nothing has changed.
We are Christ Church.
Our mission is to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
We want to make Christ famous to everyone, everywhere, every day.
We will unapologetically preach God’s Word.
We will be led into unashamed worship.
We will call you to unceasing prayer.
We will give unafraid witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
We might be physically distanced from each other in the service, but we will not be spiritually distanced. We will all draw near to our God together. And we will be unified under the cross of Jesus Christ and our passionate pursuit of His wisdom, will, and ways in all that we do.
Yes, some things will be different, but where it matters most, nothing has changed.