I sometimes wonder - after all of The Plague is over - what church will really look like.
If you live somewhere which forbids (whether you agree with it or not) the assembly and/or the reopening of church as it was pre-March 2020, you have been living a life of either 1) not attending any kind of service at all; 2) attending service via some sort of electronic medium; or 3) attending a much reduced congregation spread out.
Our current church, as I think I have mentioned, went completely remote at first and then to a modified version (25% capacity, less services, spread out, health checks, nothing but the adult service itself, etc.). I have been in no rush to get back and so we have been "attending" church via the InterWeb.
I want to be careful in my assessment: for many over the years - those who could not get out or those who, for one reason or another, found themselves isolated from a church of their liking and/or belief - the electronic medium of radio, television or the InterWeb has been a viable solution for their Christian walk. And to be even more fair, I have over the years grown a great deal from listening to Christian Teachers on the radio. And so to say that moving to a remote Church is completely outside of the historical norm - at least for the last 100 years or so - is not correct.
That said, of course, I do not find that the InterWeb really works for me (although again to be fair, I have other issues with my current church as well which may incline me to such an opinion).
But (at least theoretically) at some point, church will restart. But how will it be?
I have been scraping my mind in odd hours to think of a historical comparison, of some time where the Church ceased meeting for a period of time and then restarted. It is not quite the same as the Underground Church (although I am pretty sure this is unofficially happening somewhere) and the major plagues of the Middle Ages (The Plague of Justinian, The Black Plague) did not result in the complete lack of meeting of the Church. And I do not fully have one yet.
My suspicion - no matter what my lack of historical context - is that it will appear very different.
Practically speaking of course, I suspect things of my youth, like the post-service treasured coffee and cookies, will be much rarer than they used to be. Spacing out may become a regular practice, even if it is not to the extent that have now. Not being a huge physical contact person myself, I will not be heartbroken the intense physical greetings that some other denominations have also disappear - but there will be people that are impacted by this. Add in the question of how and where such things as children's ministries, teen ministries, adult ministries, retreats, etc. get put back together or impacted - it is a pretty big list.
If I were to theorize, I might suggest that we end up with three or four models: one in which things roll on as before, one where things remain where they are now, one where churches begin to go below the radar and operate out of houses to avoid the perceived risk of too many unknown people (thinking the Amish model here), or one where we have the equivalent of "cathedral" worship: large buildings, people spaced out, little interaction.
I have no real idea of course, and it is (at least for me) moderately fun to speculate. But I do know this: no matter which model or models exist, if the Church is not actively thinking of such things it is going to "return" only to find that people's expectations and behaviors have changed - and it did nothing to prepare.
Interesting.
ReplyDeleteA parallel might be sportzball: in the old days people did The Big Game BBQ, picnics, and tailgate parties. But the advent of The Pox and ridiculous revolting political displays separated people from the venue and forced them to seriously consider what they were actually doing in a way they never had before. Like smokers, they looked at their habits and asked, “Why am I doing this?”... and quit.
The same may well happen with the church. For many it is merely a habit, and they’ll discover they no longer need it and quit the same way. (In this case though, I’d liken that to giving up working out or dispensing with a healthy diet).
I love my wife’s church, the people there, and my Maker... but hate the mask and the loathsome, superstitious idiocy that makes it a requirement. I will render unto Caesar but will not bow down to him. I no longer attend services at all.
But they do have informal bible study groups in the evening and I may stop in just to show my face. Masks are not required for it and most of our members feel much as I do about the COVID scam. Up here in Canada our rulers hate the church and Christians, and are using the Pox as a means to strike out at us. I hate to say it but it is working to an extent.
Glen - Thanks. That extends my thoughts exactly in a way they wanted to go but could not. It is exactly true - (literally) millions of people have walked away and, I suspect, will not be returning. Those that make an industry of it are, I suspect, in for a disappointing awakening. Once passion has cooled, it is hard to resurrect it again.
DeletePossibly with Church as well - noteworthy I think that just like sports, now with InterWeb attendance being accepted, people will begin to experiment with churches and faith practices that they might never have before. Remotely - now more than ever - I can be a member of any church in the world (probably any faith, as well).
The Bible studies and other groups are a good example of non-official meetings that probably are more impactful than the services themselves. I wonder how they will work out as well.
Completely agree with you that some political parties who are definitely opposed to Christianity are using this to further their own anti-Christian preferences. I, too, think it will have an impact.
But I wonder - can this whole thing also drive people more into a relationship with God, even as it causes them to fall away from "Church"?
I can see that happening too, TB...
ReplyDeleteThis isn't over, the game is just getting started. I personally believe that my political and spiritual adversaries in all this are - for the most part - living in a house of cards, on borrowed time. The church has withstood Romans, Phillistines, Assyrians, barbarians, Moslems, communists, fascists, and any number of other challengers for over two thousand years. Compared with those guys... I just cannot see it being destroyed by a pathetic rabble of stupid people with an imaginary pandemic.
Glen, Their house is very weak indeed. It is built on a belief that certain things will always be in place - energy, food - with no consideration to any interruption of those things.
DeleteEventually, people will just start ignoring them entirely and getting on with their lives. That is when they will become truly desperate.
long ago God gave my husband a series of dreams of the future
ReplyDeleteone was the Church was meeting under times of war against the Church.
the services were held in remote places and people came secretly
this is, literally. war against God's people
if the church attendance falls off permanently the separation of sheep from goats will have started
it effectively draws clear distinctions and makes the persecution of the remnant easier
Deb, this is exactly the experience of the persecuted church throughout the world. It would not surprise me at all to see that happen.
DeleteThen again, for much of its in history in many parts of the world the Church has always been small groups of people meeting together. The establishment of the "church" - buildings, programs, and so forth - is a luxury, not a necessity.
For what it is worth, I have been convinced for many years - 30 plus - that I would live to see the Church persecuted in this country.
Our church has been operational since I think June this year. They only allow people to sit every third pew, six feet of spacing within a pew and required masks. Since our church wasn't real crowded to begin with, this allows probably about 60% of us to attend mass and most of those that don't are the elderly or those locked down in elder care facilities. It has worked well thus far. However, many of the other churches in town have no such rules in place and all have turned into super spreader events and the eventual deaths of parishioners as a result.
ReplyDeleteI personally think, at least in my own Catholic church, that things will return pretty much to normal once vaccinations are wide spread. If anything changes, I expect to see people perhaps spaced out a bit more and probably less people partaking of the communion wine from the communal chalice. However, I think the socializing after church will return.
Certainly concur on the chalice Ed - which has always been my preference when we attended a service where this was an option, but that is what it is. I do think people will end up spaced out more. As to socializing - I could go either way. That may resume, although again in a modified form. I suppose if churches were thinking ahead they would start to designate larger empty indoor spaces for this to happen.
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