In the Meantime

I sit in a motel in Albuquerque NM as I write this midweek message.  Not the usual place to be working. But these are not usual times.

By now, in any other year, plans would have long been made for Christmas Eve.  Of course there will be a service, but not like last year.  I have been talking about what we should do with our Worship Associates and Tech Team, asking their wisdom and advice.  We have turned lots of ideas over, wondering which ones to choose.  Then I thought, “why not ask the community itself?” 

So here’s my thought.  What if we broadcast our Christmas Eve service from outside the sanctuary and make room for a few folks to be there?  We considered doing ‘drive-in’ church but saw more logistical and electronic challenges each time we considered it.  But we could see using the patio outside the sanctuary, with room for folks in lawn chairs suitably distant.  Of course, this means risking a cold day, and the seating would be very few, no more than about 30.  We would be broadcasting as we do every Sunday, mixing presenters there with presenters on zoom, and using recorded music.  Think TV show with studio audience. 

If you would like to be part of those there in person, let me know. We will be working out the details this weekend and know clearly by Monday the 14th.  Of course, it all depends on rigorous observance of social distance and masking, and the status of the virus in the area could force us to cancel.  Who knows, though, if this works out we could do it again, perhaps once a month.  

Liminal times (as I called them on Sunday) are both times of loss and creativity.  We have found that worship can be virtual and worshipful, something you never would have known without the cost of the pandemic.  I served churches with one building, so I see your whole campus as a place of worship – sanctuary, garden, even parking lot.  Christmas Eve is a great time to try something new.  That was the point of the whole story, want it?  – FW –