So last night we once again did an #OnlineChurch #NightPrayer. Next week it will be #BCP #Compline. We’re over 2 years of gathering the Thursday Community for a weekly service. A priest, a deacon, a deacon-in-the-program, a #Methodist #pastor. Folks from 3 different states, and 9 different churches. The last time I brought this up was under a different userid/instance.
I know this doesn’t fly with the institutional church, but I continue to maintain that #TEC is missing opportunities.
There are people who can’t get to church. Or won’t. But community can be created online. Bishop Hall in WWII had the audacity to ordain a woman as a priest because he felt it gave the people of Macao hope. I will continue to advocate for the people who aren’t mobile, don’t drive, are in hospital, are doing eldercare, are dying in hospice, are the least, lost, and lonely. I continue to believe that God can do more than the church says God can do. We can do #Virtual #Eucharist…
We can believe that it’s God who blesses the #bread and #wine. I know at least 1 priest doing #Virtual #Eucharists on Zoom. Probably more are as well. The last 3 years have been difficult for all of the churches and clergy and wardens and vestries. The numbers will come in of the churches closed, or shrinking, or unable to pay for full time clergy. While #TryTank has a 10 year window to create solutions, we have the ability to experiment today and see where the Holy Spirit is leading us.
I could re-quote Stephanie Spellers from her most recent book The Church Cracked Open, but The Alabaster Jars that we hold so dear (bricks and mortar) have cracked open. We have solutions right before our eyes to give people hope. And the needs are not just pandemic related. We’ve always had immunocompromised people, people in the hospital or dying. We have lay people and deacons who could visit people who need help with the technology. I may never see the day this is accepted, but it’s coming
Well, that was fun… a little background… I do eldercare for my mother. she’s 103 years and 9 months old. She’s not gonna make an 8 or 10 am service. She misses church. Not watching TV Church, seeing people’s faces and being together. Clergy visits are sort of meah moments. She comes to the Compline and usually falls asleep. But that’s okay. She’s been in a worshipping community for the night. This Thursday group calls if they can’t make it, bring friends, and cry when their prayers are offered.
And for a lot of us in the group it’s been our connection to church, community, and God since 2020. Don’t tell me that it’s different than gathering in a building. Well, you can, but I won’t believe you…
@japierce I will not try to convince you that a building is important, but I am convinced that being in the same physical space with other people is important not only for our spirit but for our psychological health. Gather under a tree or in a hospital room, but you will no convince be that pixels can replace people.
@antares
But if the alternative is that you can’t be there for health or psychological or neurodivergent reasons, you’ve excluded them being a part of any community you call valid, yes? And I have no doubt that last night was an important part of our psychological health and that God was there with us in our prayers and tears and singing. And pixels have not replaced people. A gathering of people, whether in person or virtually, is still a gathering of people.
@japierce I don't think we are going to agree about how virtual interactions should be valued in communities of faith, but I do want to emphasize the point that it is not the buildings but the people that I care about.
As to the word "valid " that has a lot of theological significance loaded on to it. I will leave it as "not ideal for people in most cases."
@antares and that might be wrong, but being more inclusive, and willing to share the good news of Jesus with more people can’t be wrong. I like to label this as equal access church. There’s much to learn if you wake up one day needing to be in a community of worshippers and can’t get there, for whatever reason. Even a snowstorm could make your whole church fall into that category, at least for one Sunday.
@japierce @antares We have done that for literally centuries with Eucharistic visitors. I don't see why this is suddenly not good enough, when you can view the Eucharist online, interact with others at the online service, and then have bread and wine from the common table brought so you can participate in the Eucharistic feast with the rest of the community. Virtual communion, along with other theological problems, breaks that vital link to the common table.
@antares yes, we may never agree, but the church has had a number of
“That’s wrong” moments… Slavery, women as priests, gay bishops, and probably a few others could be found as well.
What I’m seeking is for the church to examine the way that the institution is structured for a norm. We can do better. We can reach beyond the “typical” to tell all people of the love our God has for everyone. That no one is left out at the table, whether you can make it to the Sunday service or not.