In Support of Online Gatherings

 

Are churches, when they switch to online services and temporarily suspend in-person services for safety reasons really giving little attention or respect to gathering? At the time the Letter to the Hebrews was written, the only way that a group of people could gather was in the same room or place. In the twenty-first century a group of people can gather online while being in different rooms or places. In both instances they come together. They see each other and they hear each other. They may not smell each other, feel each other’s body warmth, touch each other, or observe each other’s body language. Yet they can still communicate with each other. 

Arguably the reason that the author of Hebrews in urging those to whom he was writing to not neglect gathering was so that they would communicate with each other and build up each other’s faith. One can do this in an online group as well as in an in-person group. With the internet one does not have to occupy the same room. 

Those who insist that the gathering must be in-person are adding to what the author of Hebrews wrote. He says nothing about gathering in the same room or place. Now he admittedly may not have been able to conceive of any other way of gathering but that limitation does not rule out online gatherings. His main concern was that their faith would grow weak because they were making no effort to encourage each other and to reinforce and strength each other’s faith.

The author of the Hebrews opted for one of the few other ways that people could communicate with each other during his time. But since most people were illiterate, someone who was able to read the letter was needed to read it to those to whom it was addressed.

Unlike the author of Hebrews God is not limited. God exists outside of time and the past, present, and future are one to God. God knew that human beings would gather in more than one way and God inspired the writing of the letter.

A related question is whether a group of people gathered online can exercise the ministry of presence to each other. The ministry of presence can be defined as ministering to others through our presence with them at a particular time. Our presence offers them encouragement and support. 

Being present can be defined as being in view or at hand. We are available to offer a reassuring smile or a comforting word. We are also available to give a hug or to hand a tissue. When people come together online, they are able to exercise a ministry of presence to each other but it is more limited than one they can offer each other if they gathered in person. However, they are able to exercise a ministry of presence. They can be seen and heard. 

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic people who come together in person can exercise only a limited ministry of presence to each other if they are taking safety measures to protect themselves and each other from the virus. If they are wearing face masks, the masks will hide the lower half of their face, making offering a reassuring smile difficult. If they are avoiding personal contact and sitting at least six feet apart, they would not be able to give a hug or to hand a tissue. The only thing that they can offer is a reassuring word and their physical presence. 

Someone can be physical present in a room with someone else and not be “present” to the other person. Their presence in the room does not benefit the other person as a familiar face might. On the other hand, we can benefit from seeing a familiar face on a computer monitor screen or flat wall screen and hearing a familiar voice.

Can a church service or a Bible lesson livestreamed online or pre-recorded and then streamed online or broadcast on the radio or TV be regarded as a gathering of the church? If the church service or Bible lesson is streamed or broadcast at a certain time and on a certain day and the people regularly come together to view or hear it in their homes or wherever they are, this coming together for this purpose may regarded in a very broad sense as a gathering. But because those coming together for the same purpose are not visible to each other and do not interact with each other I would be inclined to view such an assembling of people as a quasi-gathering. However, if they interact with each other through chat, I would be inclined to view it as more in the nature of a “real” gathering. 

I have put real in quotation marks for a reason. I do not want to suggest that there is only one way to gather and if we do not come together in that way, we are not the gathered church. A too precise a definition can be misleading.

Before the Scottish Episcopal Church was recognized a ecclesial body whose members might legally assemble together for worship and instruction in groups of more than four people, it was banned from holding such gatherings under the laws of the United Kingdom due the refusal of its bishops to swear allegiance to the reigning monarch. They were non-jurors who argued that, having sworn allegiance to the Stuart monarchy, they could not renounce their allegiance to that monarchy and swear allegiance to the House of Hanover. As a result, any gathering of more than four members of the Scottish Episcopal Church was regarded as potentially seditious and was prohibited under the laws of the kingdom. 

The Scottish Episcopalians found away around that ban. For their church services they would assemble in the same house or building but in separate rooms. In this way they complied with the letter of the law while at the same time meeting for worship and instruction. Openings were constructed in the walls separating the rooms so that the members of the congregation could hear the priest and the parish clerk and each other.

According to one theory that has gained currency in recent times the Scottish Episcopal churches ceased to exist during that time because their congregations were unable to meet together in one room. This theory is predicated on the ahistorical notion that in New Testament times the entire church gathered in one place at the same time for worship and instruction and therefore if these conditions are not met, the church is not the church. It is something else. 

Those who subscribe to this theory argue on the basis of what Paul wrote the Corinthian church about some members waiting for the other members to arrive before beginning the Lord’s Supper that Paul is saying the entire church must be present in order for the church to be the church. Those who subscribe to the theory do not take into consideration the realities of life in the ancient world more than they do the realities of life in the present-day world. 

The church in New Testament times was made up of slaves as well as freemen. In the ancient world slaves were the property of their master and were required to do their master’s bidding. The were not able to come and go as they pleased. If their master set them to a task, they were expected to complete it. 

If a particular church was made up of slaves and freeman, the likelihood was that some of tis slave members would not have been able to have attended its gatherings all of the time. It is safe to conclude that Paul in giving instructions to the Corinthian church understood that. Some of its free members may have been prevented at times from attending the church’s gatherings due to sickness or other reasons. Are we to conclude on the basis of this theory that on these occasions the church was not the church? 

If we pursue this reasoning to its logical conclusion, the church in many places has enjoyed an only intermittent existence throughout history and enjoys such an existence today. This theory unchurches the church for a large part of its history.

The church is more than a group of people meeting together in the same place at the same time. It has a supernatural existence as well as a physical one. Its members are united by the Holy Spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ and to each other. Even though a member of the church is absent from one of its gatherings, that member is still a part of the church. Even if the whole church does not meet in the same place at the same time, it is still the church. 

A church’s gatherings may be described as an outward sign of an inward reality. They are not, however, a perfect sign of that reality. The sign and the reality should not be confused.

The aforementioned theory has gained currency due in part to the fear that churchgoers who have migrated to online services may not return to in-person services. It is also an over-reaction to the multisite movement as well as the online church. It has largely gained adherents among Reformed Baptists. Adherents of this theory also argue on its basis that a church should have only one service on Sundays and not multiple services. They also reject the sharing of a building by two or more churches, arguing that every church should have its own building.

If the church is to fulfill Jesus’ commission to make disciples of all people groups, it needs to have online services as well as in-person services, online small groups as well as in-person small groups, services at different times on Sunday, and service at different times on days other than Sunday. Small groups off campus as well as on campus, and small groups on different days at different times. It needs to move its congregation out of the building into the community. It needs to share its building with other churches seeking to reach and engage the unchurched. It also needs to be leery of theorists who would tie the hands and feet of the church with baseless assumptions.

Monday's Catch: Is the Church about to Have a "Giant Rummage Sale"? And More

Churches Must Adapt to Historic Disruption

There are moments in history when the world is shaken to its very core. 2020 feels like one of those moments. Amid the backdrop of pandemics, economic collapse, climate change, civil and denominational unrest, we may also be witness to one of the most significant changes to mainline denominations in the United States. A disruption that might alter the steady decline of mainline denominations. The move of faith communities online. Read More

This article, while written for United Methodist churches, is also relevant to churches of other denominations and networks.

Church Website Objectives – Making Your Church Website Work For You

You’re in a meeting with your leaders, and everyone is in agreement that 1st Church of Smallchurchville (Don’t be offended, I pastor a small church) needs to come into the 21st century. But the haven’t given consideration to any church website objectives. So you go out and find a free website builder like Wix or WordPress.com or any of the other numerous free sites out there, and you put up a website with your church name, address, and service times. You are all ready for the flood of traffic that is going to come to your church because of being on the web. Unfortunately, all you see is empty pews. Why? Read More

Five Principles to Get Church Members Out of the Committee and Into the Community

I continue to be amazed, if not frustrated, at the amount of time church members spend in committee meetings. I often find churches are spending ten times more hours in committee meetings than Great Commission activities. Committee meetings are not inherently bad, but they have become sad substitutes for ministry in many churches. Just today, I met virtually with six staff members of a church. They were lamenting the time consumption and frequent divisiveness of their committee system. They asked me about guidelines for church committees. As I have with other church leaders, I shared these five principles. Read More

Your Sermon or Lesson Is No Better than Its Conclusion

I’ve heard a lot of good sermons or Bible teachings that tend to wane toward the end. No matter how strong the rest of the sermon or lesson is, a poorly crafted conclusion can hinder the entire message. Here are some reasons why we need to spend more time on our conclusions—and tomorrow, I will deal with the importance of introductions. Read More

How to Expose the Idols in Your Life

Few stories in the Old Testament tend to make us feel more superior to the Israelites than the tale of the golden calf in Exodus 32:1–6. How backwards they must have been to think you could make a god out of metal! How silly to think bringing offerings to a statue would bring peace, joy, and happiness! The entire story is almost too absurd to believe. Or at least, until we examine our own idols. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Sunday Evening (November 29, 2020) Is Now Online

The theme of this evening’s service is "In Jesus' Ways Go On"

The link to this evening’s service is: 

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/11/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-sunday_29.html#more

Please feel free to share this link with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service. 

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. 

Previous services are online at: 

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

Covid America: The Unfolding Calamity

In this issue of Anglicans Ablaze I have provided links to a number of articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise around the United States and health officials are warning Americans that things are going to get worse, not better.

One of the reasons that cases and hospitalizations are on the rise is that people are not heeding the health officials’ warnings and advice and are using poor judgment and making wrong decisions.

At the federal level the present administration has failed to mobilize the nation to combat the spread of the virus. Rather it has contributed to the politicization of the pandemic. If the United States were engaged in a war with a foreign power, one could argue that the administration has sided with the enemy. The fact is that we are engaged in a war—a war of a different kind, a war with a deadly infectious disease.

At the state level public officials are infighting over what measures, if any, should be taken to prevent the virus’ spread. At the local level public officials are refusing to enforce these measures and members of the public are refusing to comply with them. The virus has benefitted from these divisions and has made serious inroads into the US population.

While conservatives have hailed the three Trump appointees to the US Supreme Court as a victory for the pro-life cause, these justices with Wednesday’s late-night decision have shown that they, like Trump himself, are not genuinely pro-life. Being pro-life extends beyond protecting the unborn. It places a high value on all human life. It includes protecting infants, children, and adults after they are born. With Wednesday's late-night decision the US Supreme Court failed to do that.

The decision relied upon defective reason and was really an example of Trump’s appointees’ flexing their judicial muscles and not an example of the Supreme Court protecting a fundamental freedom. Among our fundamental freedoms is the right to life. The majority on the Supreme Court in their decision did not uphold that right.

Churches and other religious organizations that are already doing little to protect their congregations and their communities from the COVID-19 coronavirus will see the Supreme Court’s ruling as license to do nothing at all. State and local governments that are struggling to implement reasonable measures to combat the spread of the virus. Wednesday's late-night ruling made their job even more difficult and undercuts any national effort to contain the pandemic.

People cannot be counted upon to do what is right if they are left to their own devices. Some will; others will not. Christians of all people should know that. Only God’s grace working in their hearts and lives enables people to do what is right, what is good, what is noble.

While some churches and religious organizations have cooperated with state and local health authorities; others have not. They have ignored Jesus’ teaching about being merciful as God is merciful and loving and serving others. They have turned an uncaring face to their communities and have insisted on doing what they pleased regardless of the consequences to others. They have exhibited a self-centeredness that is not consistent with Jesus’ teaching. Just as unfriendly churches see themselves as friendly, they may see themselves as loving and caring but their perceptions of themselves do not match with how they act toward the community. They are not only damaging their own witness but also the witness of churches that do embody Jesus’ teaching.

Wednesday's late-night ruling did not do Christianity a favor in the United States. It made Christians’ more susceptible to criticism and hostility. Christians may come to regret this ruling.

I posted a link to an article from the United Kingdom, which reflects the confusion over the role that singing plays in the transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Both the WHO, the CDC, and a number of governments have recognized that the virus is transmitted by airborne particles as well as droplets. The CDC has warned that more than 50% of infections are caused by people who are pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic. Recent findings point to people being the most infectious within the first five days after they themselves contract the disease. Pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic people do not have a temperature and temperature checks will not detect them. They do not spread the virus by coughing or sneezing. They spread it primarily by normal respiration—breathing. They exhale virus particles every time they breath out. People contract the virus from them principally by breathing in the particles that they exhale. The longer people are in the same room with pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic people, the more likely they are to inhale the particle and become infected with the virus. The more particles they inhale, the worse the case of the virus they are likely to develop.

Activities like singing, chanting, loud talking, clapping, dancing, and various forms of exercise such as running and jogging increase our rate of respiration, not only how fast we breath but also how deeply we breath. When our rate of respiration increases, we breath in more air. We also breath in more virus particles if they are floating in the air. They also travel further into our lungs. If we are pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic, we breath out more virus particles. These activities are not as high risk when they are performed outside, in the open air, at more than a six-foot distance from other people. A nine to ten-foot distance may be safer.

In an enclosed space or room with poor ventilation the same activities are high risk. COVID-19 coronavirus particles can linger in the air for an hour or more. The more people infected with the virus occupying the enclosed space or room, the greater will be the concentration of these particles in the air. One of the earliest recommendations of the CDC was that worship services should be limited in size and held outdoors or in a large airy room with the doors and windows open. Opening the doors and windows permits the flow of air into the room, which can dilute and dispel any concentration of airborne virus particles in the room. Most air conditioning systems only recirculate the air in the room. They may move the airborne particles around the room but they will not dilute or disperse any concentration of particles in the air of the room.

For these reasons places of worship cannot be categorized with bicycle shops and liquor stores. They require more layers of intervention. People do not stay in a bicycle shop or liquor store for any length of time. The individual most at risk of infection is not the customer but the employee who operates the cash register and has the most contact with the customers. For customers, the risk of infection is fairly low.

On the other hand, people may stay in a place of worship for an hour or more. They may occupy the same room for an hour or more. They may engage in activities like singing, shouting, clapping, and dancing in place, which increase their respiration rate. Their risk of infection is far higher than it would be in a bicycle shop or liquor store. If they are infected with the virus, they will spread the virus to others. Those who become infected will in turn infect others. If the church or other religious organization does not require the wearing of face masks and the practice of other safety measures, the risk of infection is higher. So is that risk if the room is poorly ventilated.

The Supreme Court’s ruling gave churches and other religious organizations that are careless about protecting their congregations and communities, permission to be more careless. The ruling gave those religious organizations doing a slipshod job of protecting people to do an even worse job. This the decision jeopardizes people’s health, safety, and very lives, it cannot by even a stretch of the imagination be regarded as pro-life. As a consequence of this decision we can expect to see more fatalities and more people suffering the long-term effects of infection. We can also expect churches that are acting responsibly to get the blame along with those that are not. Will the justices involved in this decision take responsibility for its consequences and step down from the bench? I doubt it.

Saturday Lagniappe: Why We Should Sing Hymns the Traditional Way and More

Why Singing Hymns the Traditional Way is Better than Singing the Pop Worship Way

Pop music is not written to be sung by a congregation. It is not textually driven, which is part of the necessity for a poem set to music to function as a hymn. Even if the text is good and important, the music is driven by a band, usually a constituted rock band, and the vocals are handled either by a soloist or a small ensemble. The singing is done very individualistically, usually with heavy ad libbing, soloistic singing. The singers are generally theatrical, even when they don’t mean to be. It’s the style of music. Your favorite pop singer sings this way, and so when this sort of music is done in church, the singers are theatrical. More technically, and I’m drawing on my own training as a vocalist here, it is technically sung in a high-larynx position, which creates a feeling of emotive singing that, unfortunately, often borders on being either whiny or glib. Read More

I concur with the observations made in this article. Pop worship songs are often sung at range above that of the average congregational singer. Due to the way that they are sung, they sound alike after a while. The worship songs that were sung in the late 1970s and early 1980s were congregational. They had easy-to-sing tunes that almost sung themselves. But as bands began to replace music groups, vocalists began to replace the congregation as the primary singers in worship gatherings. Worship itself became increasingly less corporate. Worship gatherings became more like pop concerts with an inspirational speaker.

Govt Says Several Covid Outbreaks Have Been Associated with Singing in Church

The Government has explained what evidence it has on the danger of singing and suggested guidelines for making it safer. Read More

Don’t Sing So Close to Me: Choirs in the Covid Era

Once a communal activity, choral singing has been a high-risk one during the pandemic. Read More

When Your Groups are Divided Over COVID

This is a complex time filled with believers and non-believers. Some believe that COVID-19 is a deadly pandemic and that every precaution must be taken. Others believe that the Coronavirus is completely made up to control people. There are others who venture out with precautions. There are others who resent precautions. As one pastor said recently, “You just described my whole church.” But, what happens when your groups disagree over whether to meet in-person or online? Read More

In Covid-19 Regulations Case, Sotomayor Dissent Claps Back at Supreme Court Majority

The high court’s ruling, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, will “will only exacerbate the Nation’s suffering.”

In a Supreme Court ruling just before midnight on Thanksgiving eve, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor penned another of her fiery dissents—this time warning, in her view, of the dangers of the Court’s majority position on New York State’s Covid-19 restrictions.

The high court, in a 5-4 vote, blocked restrictions on religious services that Governor Andrew Cuomo had introduced to fight the spread of the coronavirus. The majority found that Cuomo’s restrictions violated the First Amendment’s protection of free exercise of religion. These restrictions specified that, depending on infection rates, the number of worshippers at religious services could be limited. Justice Neil Gorsuch concurred, writing, in effect, that it was unconstitutional to have laws regulating churches and synagogues while allowing liquor stores and bike shops to reopen.

Sotomayor, the nation's only Latina Supreme Court Justice and a native New Yorker, was not having it.

“Free religious exercise is one of our most treasured and jealously guarded constitutional rights. States may not discriminate against religious institutions, even when faced with a crisis as deadly as this one,” she wrote. “But those restrictions are not at stake today.” Read More

Also See:
Supreme Court's Scientifically Illiterate Decision Will Cost Lives
Nearly 50 People Contracted Coronavirus after Fellowship Event at a Small Church in Maine

This Is the Most Dangerous Place in the Grocery Store

The cash register has emerged as the most dangerous place in the store, according to public health and worker safety experts. Every item cashiers touch, scan and bag has been handled by customers and other workers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is possible that a person can get coronavirus by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it.

The job also entails being at arm's length from customers all day rather than the CDC-recommended six feet, making socially distancing nearly impossible, these experts said. The risks for shoppers are heightened as they move toward the register, too. If a cashier is infected, the employee could spread it to customers.

"The cashier spot is still the most dangerous since every customer passes this area and stands there for some time while groceries are moving down the counter," said Brandon Brown, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Riverside. Read More

Also See: 

About 20% of Grocery Store Workers Had Covid-19, and Most Didn't Have Symptoms, Study Found

For Months, a Rural Kansas Community Watched the Covid-19 Pandemic Unfold from Afar. Then, a Deadly Outbreak Landed Right on Their Doorstep

When Covid-19 cases began climbing in the fall within Norton County, Kansas, the administrator of a local nursing home used the facility's Facebook page to send residents reminders.

An early September post on the Andbe Home's page urged visitors to "PLEASE PLEASE follow the guidelines," including maintaining a distance of six feet and wearing a mask at all times, "not just in front of us."

Three weeks later, while the county's number of infections crept upward, the home went into lockdown. "It is our responsibility to protect our residents and I feel with an increase in active cases we need to take this unfortunate step," Megan Mapes, the administrator, wrote on October 2.

Five days later, the home announced its first positive resident. By mid-October, Andbe Home had a "full COVID outbreak," Mapes said on Facebook.

Every single one of the 61 residents in the home tested positive for the virus. At least 21 have since died of Covid-19, according to Mapes.

"When we started to see some of our people passing away from this, I mean, that really hit us hard," says Reva Benien, a lifelong Norton resident. "People that we grew up with, that were family friends or church members." Read More 

Also See: 

Masks Mandates Worked to Slow the Spread of Covid-19 in Kansas, CDC Research Shows

Should You Quarantine after Thanksgiving Gathering amid Rising COVID Cases? Yes, Expert Says

Thanksgiving is over. Many people celebrated with just their household unit, but many others did not. In fact, up to 50 million Americans are traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend, according to the American Automobile Association, or AAA.

The comings and goings of US travelers belie the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge. The US reported 2,046 deaths Wednesday -- the highest one-day coronavirus death toll the country has reported since early May, Johns Hopkins University data shows. The country also hit a new daily hospitalization record, with 89,954 people currently hospitalized for COVID-19, according to the COVID Tracking Project. This is the 16th straight day that figure set a record for the pandemic, as previously reported by CNN.

We talked to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen about her recommendations on how to keep safe after people return from holiday festivities. Read More

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (November 28, 2020) Is Now Online

Every Sunday and every holy day has two eves. The first eve begins at sunset on the evening of the day before the Sunday or the holy day and the second eve begins at sunset on the evening of the Sunday or the holy day itself. On both eves Christians have traditionally gathered to pray the office of Vespers, or Evensong. This office goes back to earliest times. A main element of the office was the lighting of the evening lamps and the singing of praise to Christ as the light. All Hallows Evening Prayer preserves this ancient tradition. 

We are entering the Season of Advent, a season that begins the church year in the Western Church. During the Advent Season we observe “a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming.”

A number of churches and families have adopted the custom of lighting a candle on an Advent wreath on each Sunday of Advent. An Advent wreath usually has four candles, one for each Sunday of Advent. It may also have a fifth candle, the Christ Candle, which is lit on Christmas Eve. All four or five candles may be lit through the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Families that are using All Hallows Evening Prayer as a part of their devotions and which observe this custom should light the appropriate number of candles on the Advent wreath before the Service of Light. For example, the appropriate number of candles for the Second Sunday of Advent is two. Two candles on the Advent wreath may be lit on both eves of that Sunday. During the singing of the hymn, “Creator of the Stars of Night,” other candles and lights may be lit. “Creator of the Stars of Night” is sung in place of the Phos Hilaron throughout the Advent Season. An appropriate Christmas carol is substituted for “Creator of the Stars of Night” on Christmas Eve.

If your family does not have an Advent wreath, you can still observe the custom of lighting a candle on each Sunday of Advent--one on the First Sunday of Advent, two on the Second Sunday, and so on. I use an adventsstake, a glass Scandinavian style Advent candle holder. A narrow rectangular tray that will hold four candles in a row also works.

The theme of this evening’s service is Jesus, the Messiah, the Promised One.

The link to this evening’s service is:

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/11/evening-prayer-service-of-light-jesus_28.html#more

Please feel free to share this link with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

Previous services are online at:

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

Friday's Catch: What the Supreme Court Got Right and More

SCOTUS Gets It Right on Religious Liberty: Church IS Essential

But the right outcome here doesn’t mean all restrictions are invalid or that churches should reopen. Read More

6 Ways the Team Reflects the Leader

Based on my observation of teams with different leaders, here are six ways the team reflects the leader.... Read More

10 Prayers We All Need to Pray in the Midst of the Covid Crisis

Chuck Lawless put this prayer list together in March. It is even more important to pray for these concerns today. Read More

Trump Has Not Accepted Biden's Election. Don't Believe It!

 

I normally try to steer away from politics. I will admit that I am not always successful. I believe that politics can be a serious distraction for Christians from what is the central task of the Christian church, which is to proclaim the gospel to the four corners of the earth and to make disciples of all peoples. If Christians are not careful, politics can take the place of Jesus and his teaching in the hearts and lives of Christians. 

I also believe that Christians can exercise a much greater influence in our society by living their lives according to Jesus’ teaching and example than they can by the election of politicians who are purported to be Christians, the legislation of what are supposedly Christian values, and the appointment of judges who will enforce these values. Jesus did not encourage his disciples to become involved in the politics of the day. Rather he urged them to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness.

We cannot legislate God’s kingdom. Transformed hearts and transformed lives is what causes the kingdom to grow and advance. This is not to say that we should not do as much good as we can in our short lives, including voting for candidates whose lives are genuinely in harmony with Jesus’ teaching and example even though may not be professing Christians and standing for political office ourselves if our lives are also in harmony with his teaching and example. But let us not delude ourselves that in doing so we are bringing in God’s kingdom.

This said, I believe that the President of the United States should have an impeccable moral character and a sterling reputation. He should not have a history of bad faith dealings, unpaid debts, bankruptcies, lawsuits, and shady business practices. He should reflect what is best in the America character and not its worst. He should be honest, not given to lying to the American people, distorting the truth, and misleading them. The President should respect our great Republic’s democratic institutions, not seek to demolish them. His position on key issues should reflect deeply held beliefs, not a cynical attempt to garner the votes of those who do hold such beliefs. The President should seek to unify the nation and not divide it. He should appeal to what is best in the American people and not their worst. The President should put the good of the nation before his personal interests. He should be in no way beholding to foreign powers due to past indiscretions or past, present or future business dealings. A great Republic like the United States deserves a President who meets these high standards and nothing less.

While he has accused the Democrats of stealing the election from him, Donald Trump is busily seeking to steal the election from Democrat Joe Biden. To date there has been no credible evidence of the massive voter fraud that Trump has alleged. The silence of the Pennsylvania state legislators who met with Trump this week suggests that Trump has suborned them into joining a scheme to replace the popularly-elected Pennsylvania electors who are pledged to vote for Biden with electors pledged to vote for him elected by the Pennsylvania state legislature. The exclusion of the Republican leaders of the Pennsylvania legislature from the meeting points to that conclusion since these leaders have stated publicly that they will not seek to undo the certification of the popularly elected electors. One of the Pennsylvania state legislators has filed suit to have the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturn as unconstitutional legislation overwhelming adopted by both Republican and Democratic state legislators permitting an expansion of absentee balloting.

Trump’s statement that he will accept the outcome of the Electoral College vote is not as the media mistakenly think--Trump’s begrudging acceptance of Biden’s victory at the polls. It is far from it. Trump is hoping that this scheme, if it is successful, will encourage other Republican-dominated state legislatures to follow suit and replace popularly elected electors pledged to Biden with Republican state legislature-elected electors pledged to him. This would effectively overthrow democracy in the United States and replace it with a one-party system with Trump as President and party boss, in other words, a dictatorship. It would nullify the votes of millions of American voters and effectively disenfranchise them.

Republican state legislators who need to ask themselves what protection is Trump offering them from an enraged electorate who may decide to take their anger at Trump out on those who aided him in his schemes to steal the election. Has Trump promised them federal troops to patrol the streets outside their homes and offices—twenty-four hour, seven-day-a-week security details to protect them and their families? Or will Trump be Trump, and turn his back on them once they have done his bidding?

What was once the greatest democracy on the planet will be reduced to the status of a banana republic. Is that why American soldiers died in World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and the other wars in which the United States has engaged to maintain its freedom—so a New York businessman and reality TV star with an overinflated opinion of himself can strut about like Mussolini and Hitler?

Trump has had his chance at being the President of the United States. While his supporters may choose not to admit it, he blew it. He could have rallied the people of this great Republic and mobilized the nation to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. He could have gone down in history as a President who, confronted by a crisis of international scale, rose to the occasion. Instead he chose to deny the pandemic’s seriousness, made one poor decision after another, and set a bad example for the nation. His lack of empathy for the suffering and the dying has become increasingly evident. He has written off hundreds of thousands of Americans as expendable. His only concern has been his own re-election. It has become an obsession.

Despite what some Americans fear, the United States is not going to turn into a socialist country where the state owns the means of production and runs the economy. The police are not going to be defunded. Legally-owned firearms are not going to be taken away from their owners. Over the next fours years Joe Biden will have a lot of opportunities to fudge it as Trump has had during his presidency. In 2024 there will be another presidential election and Republicans will have an opportunity to field a better candidate than Trump, a candidate who will not rise to his level of incompetence when faced with a major crisis. Anyone who had been observing Trump’s career over the years knows that Trump is not what he tries to sell himself as being. He is not even half of that.

The Questions That Will Shape the Future of the Church

Knowing what you should do as a leader in normal times is hard enough.

As you may have noticed, these aren’t normal times.

Trying to figure out what to do in the midst of a global crisis is so much more complicated.

So how do you cut through the mess and noise to chart a course that leads you into a better future?

Here’s a simple place to begin: Start by asking the right questions. After all, the quality of the answers you get as a leader are determined by the quality of the questions you ask.

Ask better questions, you get much better answers and, as a result, a much better future.

The challenge is that it can be difficult to know which questions are the best questions to ask. In addition, you’ve got more agitated and angry voices than ever trying to tell you what to do (for more on that, see Pastors, Here’s Why Everyone’s So Mad At You Right Now).

So to help cut through the noise, here are five questions about the future that in my view, are the most helpful ones to be asking right now.

They’re questions I’m asking, and I think two years from now, they’ll turn out the be questions leaders who are making progress found themselves asking in this season. Read More

Love is the Mark of a Christian

I can still remember the ritual we went through every morning in my 2nd-grade class. Our teacher came in and told us that it was time to put on our “Golden Rule Gloves.” Then, we pretended to pull gloves over our fingers as we recited “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Then we went through the motions of fastening three buttons on each glove as we said, “God is love. Love one another.”

It makes perfect sense to go through this routine every morning with over twenty 2nd-graders. We were naturally selfish people who usually had not learned how to get along with other people. We competed with each other and then argued about the outcome. Every personal flaw provided fodder for a joke at someone else’s expense and we found it too tempting not to touch each other’s stuff. We needed to be taught to love one another.

All too often God’s people need to be reminded of some of the simple lessons that I first remember learning when I was seven-years-old. (I’m sure I had heard these things many times previously. This is just my first conscious recollection of it.) We are too often tempted to hold grudges against each other and judge one another for personal opinions. We often rudely lash out at people over the slightest disagreements. We struggle to love those who seem like an outsider.

When we think about the marks of a person who is a Christian, our love for other people in general and the people of God, in particular, is one of the chief characteristics that should come to our minds. After all, it was Jesus who said that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Why is this true, though? What is it about love that sets it apart as one of the chief marks of a Christian? Read More

The Flaw in the Supreme Court Ruling: Apples and Oranges Are Not the Same

 

The weakness in the Supreme Court’s late-night ruling in favor of two New York religious organizations is that it affirms a form of defective reasoning known as “false equivalency.” This kind of flawed logic claims an equivalence between a bicycle shop and a place of worship, ignoring significant differences between the two venues. This defective reasoning has been used in a number of cases that religious organizations have brought to court, arguing that the state or local public health authorities were imposing unwarranted restrictions on the practice of religion. The failure to make the distinction between bicycle shops and the like and places of worship will affect the safety of places of worship. 

This ruling will encourage churches and other religious organizations that are lax in implementing preventive measures to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus to become even more incautious and careless and those which are implementing such measures to relax their vigilance. The result will be more super-spreader events at churches and clusters of new cases traceable to churches.

States and counties that are experiencing spikes in new cases are already having difficulty in securing the cooperation of the public in the implementation of measures intended to reduce infection rates. This ruling will also add to the challenges that they face.

The community on the outskirts of which I live and where I attend the local state university has a bicycle shop and numerous places of worship. The bicycle shop is located near the university and repairs as well as sells bicycles. While the community has a large number of bicycle enthusiasts, one seldom sees many of them in the bicycle shop at one time. They rarely stay at the shop for any length of time. On occasion one may see a small group of bicyclists with their bicycles outside the store. While a customer who is not wearing a face mask or maintaining at least a six-foot distance from an infected customer or store employee might contract the COVID-19 coronavirus, the risks are fairly low.

On the other hand, the risks of contracting the virus at one of the community’s places of worship is much higher, depending upon which place of worship one attends. Some churches have been complying with the governor’s recommended safety guidelines for churches; others have been ignoring these guidelines. Elsewhere in the state religious organizations have taken the governor to court and received rulings in their favor, rulings which from a public health standpoint contribute to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the state.

In those places of worship where the risk of exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus is the highest, churches are not placing a limit on the number of attendees at a worship service or other gathering at one time. Attendees are not encouraged to wear face masks, social distance, and observe other state and county recommended preventive measures. Worship services and other gatherings often last more than an hour. The Sunday morning schedule will not differ from what it did before the pandemic with adults and children attending Sunday school as well as worship services. Attendees may be in the building for several hours, frequently in the same room. Due to the cold weather windows and doors will be closed. Worship services and even Sunday school classes will involve activities like singing and loud taking which have been implicated in the airborne transmission of the virus. People experiencing mild symptoms associated with the virus will attend worship services and other gatherings. In a county that has been red-zoned due to its high incidence of infection, these churches are playing with fire.

In those places of worship where the risk of exposure to the virus are the lowest, churches are limiting the number of people in attendance at worship services and other gatherings at one time and requiring them to register beforehand. They are requiring attendees to wear face masks, social distance, and observe other preventative measures. They are limiting the length of worship services and other gatherings. They are taking steps to ensure that rooms are adequately ventilated. They have dialed back such activities as singing and loud talking or have placed a temporary moratorium on them. They ask people who are sick to stay home. They offer online services for those who are not yet comfortable attending church or who are elderly or have pre-existing conditions. They recognize people’s safety concerns and respond appropriately to them. Due to the rise in new cases across the state and in the county, they have temporarily suspended worship services and other gatherings on the recommendation of the governor. They are doing all that they can to keep their congregation and the community safe.

See also:
Major shift at Supreme Court on Covid-19 orders
In a 5-4 ruling, Supreme Court sides with religious groups in a dispute over Covid-19 restrictions in New York
Supreme Court Blocks New York’s Worship Service Restrictions
High court blocks NY coronavirus limits on houses of worship

We Are Not Living in Normal Times This Thanksgiving

Having already inflicted much pain and suffering on the American people, the Trump administration appears to have no qualms about adding to their misery. As the COVID-19 coronavirus surges across the nation and new cases are spiking, the White House Thanksgiving proclamation encourages people to gather despite the warnings of the CDC and other public health officials. In normal times such encouragement might be appropriate but we are not living in normal times. We are in the midst of a serious epidemic. 

Having lost the election, President Trump appears to be set on dragging American people down with him. Since he lost the election, he has sought to put all kinds of obstacles in the path of the incoming administration, obstacles that not only make the task of the new administration more difficult but endanger the health and safety of the American people. His actions and the inadequate and inappropriate response of the Trump administration to the pandemic raise questions about whether the outgoing president and members of his administration should be held criminally liable for endangering the health and safety of the people of this great nation. One does not restore a nation to its former greatness by permitting a dangerous, infectious disease to spread among its people. One only further weakens that nation.

Only an individual who is an agent of a foreign power hostile to the United States or a individual whom such a power controls or an individual who has no concern for the health and safety of his fellow Americans and puts his own self-interests before the interests of the nation would act in this manner. They are not the actions of a president who has a genuine commitment to the health and safety of the nation.

The people of this great nation should take time to offer God thanks for the blessings that he has bestowed upon them but in the relative safety of their own homes with the immediate members of their households. They should also give thanks to God for having spared the nation from a president who during a major national emergency rose to his level of incompetence and showed that he was not the right leader to deal with this national emergency. This is not to say that President Trump should not be given credit where credit is due. He did make some right decisions. But it is to recognize that President Trump and his closest aides are not the right people to lead this nation in a time of calamity as great as the COVID-19 pandemic. During such a time the nation needs a more level-headed steersman at the helm of our nation—a steersman who will bring the nation to calmer waters and then safely to harbor.

Also See:
White House Thanksgiving proclamation calls for Americans to 'gather' even as Covid-19 surges
Fauci makes "final plea" to Americans before Thanksgiving 

A Thanksgiving coronavirus surge could turn into the Christmas surge, health professor warns

Wednesday's Catch: Sudden Deteriorations in Church Health and More

How Even Healthy Churches Can Spiral Quickly into Dysfunction

Like an organism, when church health declines, it typically does so slowly. But there are cases when an otherwise healthy person experiences a sudden deterioration. Healthy churches can also experience a sharp decline in health. There are cases of healthy churches quickly becoming dysfunctional. Below are five ways I’ve seen churches spiral downward quickly, almost overnight. Read More

3 Startling Stats That Reveal How Much the Church Has Changed This Year

When you’re in the middle of a disruption, it’s hard to know exactly what’s changing, let alone how deeply or permanently things are changing. As 2020 soon draws to a close, there are three numbers that, at least for me, show how quickly, radically and perhaps permanently the church is changing. Read More

How to Unite a Divided People

My guess is, deep down, you wish your church, organization or company was more united. And while leadership has always been hard, this particular moment makes it harder than ever. So how do you do it? Here are four principles that have helped me lead through division. Read More

3 Changes to Make When Online vs. In Person

The two most frequent questions I get asked from other pastors during this surreal time of pandemic, affecting all of us globally in so many ways, are “How do you keep people engaged?” followed by “What do you do differently in your online service than you did when in person?” Read More

Research: Racial Minorities Were More Likely to Contract COVID-19 at Churches

New research suggests that, at the beginning of the pandemic, Americans from lower-income or majority-minority neighborhoods were more likely to be infected with COVID-19 through religious gatherings such as churches than those living in higher-income or predominantly white neighborhoods. Read More

Biden Says Americans Can Worship in Person ‘Safely.’ But What Does That Mean?

President-elect Joe Biden says Americans should be allowed to worship in person “safely” during the ongoing pandemic. But as cases of COVID-19 spike in the U.S. just weeks before major religious holidays, questions abound as to whether attending religious services in person can, in fact, be safe — and if Biden’s approach to the contentious issue will differ from that of the Trump administration. Read More

Why This Denomination May Soon ‘Be on Life Support’

Based on recent statistics, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) faces a “dire” and “vastly diminished” future—and may even cease to exist in a few decades. Although numbers can’t tell the whole story of a church body, the ECUSA has experienced major declines in attendance and membership.

“The overall picture is dire,” says the Rev. Dwight Zscheile, an Episcopal priest and professor. “Not one of decline as much as demise within the next generation unless trends change significantly.” During the past decade, the ECUSA has lost one-quarter of worship attendees.

“At this rate,” says Zscheile, “there will be no one in worship by around 2050 in the entire denomination.” While offering pledges have increased, “the fact that fewer people are giving more money is not a sustainable trend over the long term,” he adds. Read More

Increased offering pledges are not an uncommon reaction to the decline of a church. People will give more money in hopes that it will keep the church going. But declining churches need more than money. What they need most is people.

While conservative Anglicans attribute the decline of the Episcopal Church to its increasing progressivism, the reasons for the denomination's decline are much more complex. A number of these reasons also affect the Continuing Anglican churches and the Episcopal Church's conservative Anglican rival, the Anglican Church in North America.

I "left" the Episcopal Church in 2002. Pushed out may be a more accurate description of my departure. A major factor was the apathy of my parish's rector and the deanery's clergy. The county in which my parish was located was one of the fastest growing counties in the state. Churches were growing with the population, including my own, and a number of denominations were planting new churches. Yet the clergy in my deanery, including my rector, showed negligible interest in evangelistic outreach, much less church planting. Unless the bishop launched a church planting initiative and encouraged the involvement of the local clergy, they were content to sit on their thumbs and do nothing.

The Episcopal Church had been involved in a Decade of Evangelism in the closing decade of the twentieth century. One of the greatest obstacles to the success of that initiative was Episcopal clergy. Their attitude was "Episcopalians don't do evangelism."

Since that time an aging base, shifting demographics, clergy apathy, and the denomination's progressive drift have contributed to its decline. A number of its congregations are already on life support. They are subsidized by the diocese and must share clergy with one or more other congregations. A priest or other minister who must serve several yoked congregations cannot devote their time and energy to turning a congregation around. As more and more congregations require life support, dioceses are faced with the choice of unplugging those congregations that are the least viable.

What the Episcopal Church needs is an infusion of new blood, new ideas, far greater openness to evangelistic outreach and church planting, and the early retirement of the older progressive denominational leaders. The latter have appointed clergy and promoted initiatives which are not a good fit with the communities of struggling congregations and have added to the challenges these congregations face.

In order for a denomination to go on life support, it will need a healthier denomination to provide it with that support. To what denomination can the Episcopal Church turn?

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (November 25, 2020)--A Thankful and Generous Heart--Now Online

The link to this evening’s service is:

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2020/11/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for_25.html#more

Please feel free to share this link with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears.

Previous services are online at:

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

Tuesday's Catch: The Changing Role of Smaller Congregations in the Church of England and More

Anglican Churches in the UK Are Shrinking in Size but Not Impact

Report: How smaller congregations are still showing up to support their communities through growing social action. Read More

5 Things God Never Said

Misconceptions of God can be costly because they can be very defeating. Read More

Making Better Decisions

One of the most important qualities of a good leader is the ability to make good decisions. Read More

How to Preach When You Don’t Know Who’s Listening

5 principles for online preaching. Read More

3 Reasons We Should Help Teenagers Serve in Their Church

Since being a pastor, I have never liked the idea of “youth-led Sunday” – of relegating teenagers to serving just once a year. Instead I want to see teenagers serving consistently. Here is why.... Read More

Stop Making Jesus Seem Boring

A major challenge to deep discipleship our churches will face is the kind of discipleship or ministry programming that caters to spiritual apathy. Read More

Explainer: What You should Know about the COVID-19 RNA Vaccines

Here’s what you should know about vaccines and these RNA vaccine candidates. Read More

Small Gatherings Spread the Virus, but Are They Causing the Surge

Yes, the coronavirus can be transmitted over cocktails and dinners. But these get-togethers may not account for the huge rise in cases.

As states struggle to contain the resurgent coronavirus, many officials are laying the blame on an unexpected source: people gathering with family and friends.

Household get-togethers undoubtedly do contribute to community transmission of the virus. Canada’s recent Thanksgiving certainly added to its rising cases; such an increase may happen here, too, as the United States embarks on a holiday season like no other. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday warned so strongly against gathering with others outside the household during Thanksgiving.

But are dinners and backyard barbecues really the engine driving the current surge of infections? The available data do not support that contention, scientists say. Still, the idea has been repeated so often it has become conventional wisdom, leading to significant restrictions in many states. Read More

While family and small gatherings play a role in the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus (and we downplay that role at our own risk), do they account for the spikes around the country? This article asks that question and draws attention to the fact that while state and local health authorities are documenting the number of infections within their jurisdictions, they are not documenting the sources of these infections. When I did some research into the main sources of infections in my county, I learned that they were attributed to family and small gatherings. Earlier in the week the head of President Trump's COVID-19 task force had made a public statement in which she attributed the increasing rates of infections to family and small gatherings. It struck me at the time that the local health authorities were repeating Dr. Birx's explanation. Earlier reports pointed to the re-opening of restaurants and bars. A significant number of people in the county were also not following state and local safety guidelines. This continues to be the case. I think that it important for state and local health authorities to pinpoint the major sources of infection within their jurisdictions. It will help them to take more effective measures to contain the virus and mitigate its effects

In World War II the whole nation was mobilized to support the war effort. Everybody was expected to "do their bit." Individuals who were not making a contribution to the war effort were labeled as "slackers" and considerable social pressure was placed on them to join the war effort. In the effort to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, members of a community who refuse to comply with state and local safety guidelines are today's "slackers" If it is determined that they are a major source of infection in the community, social pressure might be brought to bear upon them much in the same way that it was placed on "slackers' during World War II. This might prove a far more effective way of securing compliance with safety guidelines than mandates and fines.

For Churches the Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 by Asymptomatic People Is a Game Changer

With the CDC estimating more than 50% of the new COVID-19 cases were infected by people who were asymptomatic, churches need to revisit and re-evaluate their safety measures for preventing the spread of the virus. Asymptomatic people do not spread the virus by coughing or sneezing. They spread the virus by breathing, shouting, talking loudly, and singing. They do not transmit the virus through droplets but through smaller airborne particles, which may linger in the air of a room for an hour or more. This has a number of implication for churches particular for those that are following the older and outdated safety guidelines if they do not want their worship services and other gatherings to become super-spreader events and the church to become the nexus of a fresh cluster of COVID-19 cases.

Among these implications is that churches will need to change their policy for wearing face masks from voluntary to mandatory, requiring the wearing of masks not just before and after gatherings but throughout them. They will need to post large signs in highly visible locations stating that face masks must be worn at all times. They will also need to strictly enforce social distancing and take steps to ensure that rooms are adequately ventilated (See the NY Times article, “Serve Up Some Extra Precautions at Your Thanksgiving Table This Year” for tips on room ventilation). A drafty old church may actually prove safer than a church of more recent construction. 

Churches will need to limit the number of occupants in a room for a worship service or other gathering. A church does not need to have 100% of the entire congregation present at a worship service or other gathering to be church, a claim that one hears and reads a number of pastors making in recent times. This claim is predicated on the false assumption that in New Testament times churches had 100% of the entire congregation in attendance at all meetings of the church. Social conditions in New Testament times would have rendered this an impossibility as they do in our time. Slaves formed a segment of the population in New Testament times and were not free to attend church meetings whenever they wanted. They attended the meetings when they were able, most likely arriving later than the other attendees and leaving earlier. In times of persecution their unauthorized absence from the home or workplace of their master could lead to the discovery of a congregation and the arrest of its members. 

Rarely do churches in our day have 100% attendance of entire congregation at a worship service or other gathering. Members of the congregation may be sick, out of town on business or pleasure, or not in attendance for other reasons. If one followed the reasoning of this claim to its logical conclusion, the church ceases to exist every time a member of the congregation oversleeps and misses church. Indeed the church has not existed since New Testament times due to the absence of one or more members of the congregation on a particular Sunday. 

The New Testament teaches that the Holy Spirit indwells individual believers and unites them to their Lord and to each other. Jesus promised that when two or three gathered in his name, he would be present in their midst. It is not essential that the whole congregation must gathered in one place for the church to be the church. Christians have met as large groups and small groups since New Testament times, depending upon circumstances. There is no Biblical or sound theological reason for not going to smaller, multiple services during a pandemic. It may prove logistically challenging but in most cases a church will be able to meet that challenge. It will sometimes require thinking out of the box. 

Churches will also need to temporarily suspend the use of singing, shouting chanting, loud talking, or any other activity in worship that affects the respiration rate of those present, causing them to inhale and exhale more air and to breath more deeply. It will also need to temporarily suspend the use of wind instruments in worship. If one or more people is infected and asymptomatic, these activities will increase the number of airborne virus particles that they exhale. They can lead to the buildup of a high concentration of virus particles in the air of the room if the room is poorly ventilated. They will also increase the number of virus particles that those who are not infected will inhale. How severe a case of the disease people get has been linked to the quantity of virus particle that they inhale. 

Worship generally services last an hour or more. If they are not wearing face masks or lower their faces masks, those present can inhale a substantial number of airborne virus particles during that period. For these reasons places of worship have been classified as places that are high risk for COVD-19 transmission along with gyms, restaurants, cafes, and bars. 

When one considers such factors as length of service, length of sermon, and types of worship activities, a quiet, said Catholic low mass, reduced to its basic elements and with a short homily and communion in one kind, may be safer than a charismatic or Pentecostal service with its singing and shouting, lengthy medleys of praise and worship songs, lengthy sermons, and laying on of hands with prayer. A charismatic or Pentecostal service may last two hours or more. Its worship activities are not only likely to increase the respiration rates of those present but also to bring them into close proximity to each other. On the other hand, at a Catholic low mass there is usually no singing and the only time that one person comes closer than six feet to another person is during the distribution of the communion. 

During a spike in the COVID-19 cases in a particular state, region, or county when people are not wearing face masks or observing other safety measures despite the urgings of the local authorities—in my case, the mayor of the town and the lead judge of the fiscal court, the best step for a church to take may be to temporarily suspend its in-person services until the infection rate has gone down significantly. As long as one segment of the population is defying the community safety guidelines or taking a relaxed attitude toward the virus, the rest of the community is at risk, including the churches in the community. A church may implement adequate layers of intervention but due to the intransigence of this population segment or its lack of concern for its own safety and the safety of others may nonetheless become an epicenter of a new cluster of cases. What one part of the community does or does not do affects the rest of the community. While the slogan “we are all in this together” is often ignored, it does point to an essential truth—we are all in this together. Those who are not a part of the solution to the problem are part of the problem.