Monday's Catch: Navaho Christian Launches Food Pantry and More

Native Women Pray, Respond to COVID-19 Needs

From the depths of one Navajo woman’s personal anguish has emerged the Love Thy Neighbor Pantry for people on the Navajo Nation dealing with COVID-19. Read More

Sympathy Is of the Very Essence of Christ’s Religion

In this time of being apart I have been pondering Romans 12:15 which commands “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep,” and wondering how that can be done when we cannot be together. While Charles Simeon offers little help with the social distancing, he does offer help with what it means to carry out the spirit of the command. Read More

How Should Christians Respond to Racism

The problem is this. We have so confused Christianity with politics that people often assume Christian equals the stuff political conservatives identify with and non-Christian equals the stuff progressives talk about. And since racial justice often tends to be at the forefront of the discussion in politically progressive circles, we shy away from them because we think that to discuss the evil of racism is to identify with the liberal left. But here's the thing. When we call out the evil of racism, we're identifying with the word of Almighty God. Read More

6 Must-Ask Questions to Help Find Your Personal Calling

This article about personal calling is an excerpt from The Catalyst Leader:8 Essentials to Becoming a Change Maker. Read More

Phishing Attacks Keep on Coming: Are You Safe?

How do you prevent users from being tricked into giving out their usernames and passwords? What safety measures can you implement in case a user gets tricked again? Read More

Scammers will hack the email account of a church leader and then send emails claiming that due to an unexpected emergency the church leader need financial help. Those on the church leader's contact list are asked to send the church leader money or to purchase a gift card for the church leader. Those who are acquainted with the church leader know that he or she would not solicit funds in this manner but scammers operate on the principle that they may catch someone off guard. I have personally been the target of this type of scam on several occasions.

How to Navigate Your Community Reopening? Remember the Four C’s

Close contact, confined spaces, crowds, choices — these are the considerations to ponder now.

When the country was largely under lockdown, at least the rules were mostly clear. Essential workers ventured out; everyone else sheltered in. Bars and restaurants were closed except for dining out; hair salons and spas were shuttered. Outings were limited to the supermarket or the drugstore.

Now states are lifting restrictions, but detailed guidance about navigating the minutiae of everyday life is still hard to come by — and anyway, there’s never going to be a ready solution to every problematic circumstance you may encounter.

“Ramping down was easy by comparison, even though it felt hard at the time — we basically flipped a switch,” said Dr. Preeti Malani, an infectious disease expert who is chief health officer for the University of Michigan.

“Reopening is much more complicated. There is no template, no playbook. We can’t just say, ‘Follow these 10 rules, and you’re good.’”

Even in the absence of detailed directives, however, there’s scientific consensus about a general approach that can reduce the spread of the virus as the world around you reopens. As you tiptoe toward normalization — whatever that is, given these times — try to follow three precautions: avoid contact, confinement and crowds. And make realistic choices. Read More

The Online Church and the Sacraments

By Robin G. Jordan

Jonathan Leeman, Mark Devers, and others argue that the local church is not truly the church unless the whole assembly is physically present. For this reason online services, they argue, are not church. When the local church regathers, it cannot regather in several smaller gatherings but must regather in one large gathering.

The problem with this argument is how often in our day and age is the whole assembly physically present at a gathering of the local church. The answer is not very often. One or more individuals or households may absent for various reasons.

If we pursue their logic to its obvious conclusion, then the local church is rarely if ever truly the church. Even in New Testament times one or more individuals were likely absent whenever the local church gathered. If we again apply their logic, the true church did not exist on these occasions. The local church’s gathering was something less than the true church.

Paul may have encouraged the members of the church at Corinth to wait for the latecomers before beginning the agape at which the Lord’s Supper was celebrated. But I think that Paul himself must have realized that there were occasions on which all the members of the local church would not be present.

The latecomers were in all likelihood slaves. A slave was not free to come and go as he pleased. He waited on his master’s pleasure. To the Romans and the Greeks a slave was property. He had no will of his own.

While some slaves may have been able to have gotten away, others may have not. It is something of a stretch therefore to conclude that Paul expected all the church members to be present at gatherings of the church. Paul was well acquainted with the realities of his day and age.

We must also remember that at the time Paul wrote his letters, no one could conceive of gathering in any other way than physically. Coming together entailed coming together in one’s person in a place. But the world has changed since Paul’s time. We can now come together digitally in cyberspace. Paul’s words have a wider application. The meaning of his words has not changed. We still must come together. But the application has expanded. We can now come together digitally. A passage of Scripture, while it may have only a single meaning, has multiple applications

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the local church is not truly the church if one person is absent. While church attendance is important, it is a stretch to maintain that the local church is no longer the body of Christ because someone is sick, out of town on business, on vacation, or sleeping off a hangover. I suspect that this view of the local church has in part arisen as a reaction to declining attendance in a number of local churches.

The body of Christ is first and foremost a spiritual entity. Believers are united to Christ and each other by baptism and the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ. The large physical gatherings of the local church are an icon that stands for this spiritual reality and points to it. So are the local church’s smaller physical gatherings. While they may not be as fuller expression of this spiritual reality, online gatherings are also an icon that represents and points to the same reality. While they occur digitally and in cyberspace, they are expressions of the body of Christ when the participants are baptized believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Just as we have mixed assemblies—the believing intermixed with the unbelieving—when we gather physically, we also have mixed assemblies when we gather digitally. An individual may undergo baptism and make a public profession of faith but may still be unconverted. This is a dilemma that both credo- and paedo- baptist churches face. While we can scrutinize the lives and speech of church members, only God knows their hearts.

Some traditions charitably assume that all church members are converted. Other traditions are more rigorous but even these traditions may be wrong in their judgment as to whether a church member is converted.

It is important to bear these things in mind in any discussion of the online church and the sacraments. One of the arguments that is made against online church and its celebration of the sacraments is the argument that the online church is not capable of coming together or gathering. In pressing this argument a very narrow definition of coming together and gathering is used—a definition that conceives coming together and gathering solely in physical terms. To come together or to gather in such a definition requires that households and individuals must share the same physical space. For example, they must occupy the same room. It is a definition that does not admit the possibility of any other way of coming together or gathering.

Since the 1990s people have been coming together or gathering digitally in cyberspace on the internet. It is a new way of coming together or gathering but it is coming together or gathering. It has required us to reappraise what we mean by coming together and gathering. We are faced with the question of whether we are bound to a particular way of coming together or gathering because the New Testament writers had a limited conception of coming together and gathering. Or did the Holy Spirit who is not limited in his knowledge of past, present, and future, existing as he does outside time and space, and who inspired them, intend that what they wrote should be given a broader meaning and application? Can we assume that the internet was a part of God’s plan for humanity from the beginning?

Let us assume for the sake of argument that God not only foresaw the internet but was actively at work in its creation. Its creation was ultimately to serve God’s purposes and not our own. If we make this assumption, we find ourselves looking at the internet from a wholly different perspective. It is not an accident that is forcing us reluctantly to change our way of doing things but a tool intended for use in fulfilling God’s mission in the world. Like all tools it can do damage if it is not used properly A hammer, for example, can be used to drive nails and to construct a building. But if we do not use it carefully, it can also injure the user.

Most of the objections that I find to the celebration of the sacraments online fall into the category of “But that’s not the way we are used to doing things.” Their celebration online does not line up with our preferences. We would prefer to receive a consecrated wafer made by nuns and placed by a priest on our tongue. That is what we have become accustomed to and what we have come to prefer. The arguments against their celebration online appear to have been marshaled to support these preferences.

Like other Protestants, Anglicans recognize only two sacraments as ordained by God—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Anglo-Catholics and “three streamers” may recognize other rites that they describe as “sacraments” but they represent divergent theological traditions in the Anglican Church and not its central theological tradition. In its historical formularies the Anglican Church views these other rites as corruptions of apostolic practice or states of life permitted by Scripture.

The Anglican Church recognizes Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as ways that God shows his unmerited mercy (or favor) and goodwill toward us. Through the sacraments God working inwardly in us invigorates, strengthens, and confirms our faith. They are not mere signs. They accomplished what God purposed in ordaining them.

It is ironical that Anglicans, while acknowledging that the sacraments are more than symbols of God’s grace but are embodiments of divine favor and goodwill toward us, seek to impose limitations upon their administration, which are not God’s doing. God does not prescribe who should administer the sacraments, where they should be administered, or under what circumstances. Jesus pointed to the attention of the Pharisees and the multitude that the Pharisees hedged the Word of God with their own traditions. In doing so, they negated God’s Word. Regrettably we do the same.

Whoever administers the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper must not only have had a bishop pray over him and lay hands upon him but also anoint his hands with oil that the bishop has blessed, we are told. Where in the Scriptures does it say that? One so ordained must consecrate the elements, standing before an altar set against the east wall of a building that has been dedicated to the worship of God. Where in the Scriptures does it say that? When they are pressed, those who make these claims fall back on the same argument. It is our theology. It is our tradition. It is our preference.

It is time to recognize preferences for what the are—preferences. We like one alternative over another or others. Because we prefer to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in a building modeled on the Medieval two-roomed monastic church with the ceremonial and accoutrements of the pre-Reformation Mass should not, however, prevent our fellow Anglicans from gathering online and celebrating the Lord’s Supper in a simple manner with elements that each household has supplied. God’s favor and goodwill, after all, are his to give, not ours to determine when and how they should be given, much less by whom. Otherwise, they are not grace. It is as simple as that.

3 Great Approaches for Engaging Your Church Online

Great pointers to attain consistent and relevant online engagement as you create the best experience for your church and the community you serve.

This is such a challenging time as we navigate engaging with our communities online. Below are some pointers to attain consistent and relevant online engagement as you create the best experience for your church and the community you serve. Read More

Also See:
5 Reasons Church Online Might Be a Distraction to Your Church’s Vision

How To Lead 3 Different Groups Back To Church

Who is coming back to church, and when?

Then again, is it really about “coming back?”

In principle no.

Most of your congregation never left. Most are with you online. And the church is not about a building; it’s about the impact of Jesus in the community.

In practice, yes.

We all know what we’re talking about.

The return of the church to physical buildings post COVID, and we are very much in uncharted waters.

People will come back; that we can know with confidence.

What we don’t know is who, how many, and when.

So, let’s be candid. There is more we don’t know than we do.

But isn’t that what we as leaders are called to do — lead into the unknown? Read More

Among those most eager to return to the physical building are those who do not believe that the church should have left the building in the first place, who maintain that the COVID-19 pandemic is not as serious as health experts claim, and who dismiss the need for precautionary measures such as social distancing, open doors and windows, electric fans, face masks, hand washing, and no singing or recitation. Among those most eager to return are older church members who fall in the high risk category. Among those least eager to return are young parents with small children. They usually put their children in the nursery while they attend Sunday school and/or a worship service. As I have pointed to the attention of Anglican Ablaze readers elsewhere talking about post COVID is overly-optimistic. COVID-19 is likely to be with us into the next century even if a safe and effective vaccine is developed. A vaccine may not confer lasting immunity. Polls indicate at least a quarter of those surveyed say that they would not be vaccinated. Health experts also warn that COVID-19 may become endemic like influenza and the common cold coronaviruses. This means that churches may have to plan for an annual COVID-19 season as well as an annual flue season. This is the kind of unknown into which church leaders are called to lead their churches.

Friday's Catch: The Masked Singers and BYO Communion? And More

The Masked Singers and BYO Communion?

Wherever two or more gather, illness can spread. So as a biologist, I'm rethinking hygiene at church. Read More

Church Pulse Weekly: Disruption vs Interruption: The Impact and Response to Reopening Churches [Podcast]

More and more church leaders report resounding disappointment about in-person attendance numbers. Listen Now

In Thursday's Cnurch Answers webinar, Thom Rainer drew attention to a finding of which church leaders should take note. While church members are talking a lot about returning to church, they are choosing in actual practice not to do so.

Rebound: Five Steps to Lead Your to Bounce Back and Move Forward

Church Fuel's Michael Lukaszewski hosted a webinar yesterday on the steps that churches will need to take to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a very informative webinar. Michael also provides details about a series of videos and other resources that Church Fuel has developed to help churches rebound and explains the services that come with Church Fuel membership. I definitely believe that church leaders will benefit from watching the webinar replay.Watch Webinar Replay

How to Plan a Sunday Morning Service Outdoor Gathering

If you are planning an outdoor gathering, here are ten things to consider. Read More

While this article contains some good advice, it also contains some bad advice such making wearing face masks optional. I refer readers to my comments after the article for my concerns. In the article Dave Russell also mentions that there was singing and the platform was too small for the church's musicians and vocalists. This suggests that the elders of Dave's church ignored the growing body of evidence that singing is a "super-emitter" of COVID-19 virus particles and the earlier advice that churches limit the number of musicians and vocalists on the platform.

American Bible Society Responds to Trump Photo Op: Scripture Is ‘More than a Symbol’

Ministry launches free Bible giveaway to encourage the country to open the Word. Read More

A mature, Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ doesn't not need to pack a Bible with him to show other people that he is a Christian. His life and his speech is testimony to that fact. They are long on "the fruit of the Spirit" and short on "the works of the flesh."

10 Songs Churches Gravitated Toward During COVID-19

FaithLife found certain songs grew in popularity among the churches using their service. Here are the 10 most popular worship songs during COVID-19 that saw a significant jump in usage. Read More

Southern Baptist Face the Largest Membership Decline in 100 Years

A growing number of Southern Baptist churches are home to a shrinking number of Southern Baptists. Read More

Also see "Southern Baptists See Biggest Drop in 100 Years."

"Passing the Peace" in the COVID-19 Era

By Robin G. Jordan

During Thursday’s Church Answers webinar, “Critical Questions as Members Return: The Final COVID-19 Check Up,” the practice of “passing the Peace” came up during the part of the webinar that addressed the question, “How do we do our greeting time?” Thom Rainer who was the presenter at the webinar is known for his criticism of what is known as the “meet and greet time” in the worship services and gatherings of a number of churches. Rainer’s criticism is based upon research which shows that first time guests do not respond positively to this practice and in some instances have not returned for a second visit because of the practice. Regular attendees also have difficulty with the practice. Typically those attending a worship service or gathering are asked to stand and greet their neighbors. First time guests and regular attendees report varying degrees of discomfort with these actions. Some report that it is the most uncomfortable part of the service or gathering for them.

The practice of exchanging the greeting of the Peace, as it is officially called in a number of liturgies, is a practice that is found mostly in liturgical churches albeit some churches that use a localized liturgy have also adopted the practice. Its origin can be traced to the New Testament practice of exchanging a “holy kiss” when greeting fellow believers. It became ritualized and formed a part of the early liturgies. During Medieval times it was confined to the liturgical ministers—the president, any assisting priests and deacons, and any servers. Instead of kissing each other, the liturgical ministers took turns kissing a wooden board.

By the early sixteenth century the practice had been reduced to a versicle and response in the liturgy of the Western Church. While the 1549 Book of Common Prayer retained the exchange of the greeting of the Peace in this form as a part of the communion rite, it was dropped from the 1552 Book of Common Prayer and subsequent revisions of the Book of Common Prayer.

Due to the influence of the liturgical movement and the ecumenical movement the second half of the twentieth century would see a revival of what was described as an early form of the practice in then newer Anglican, Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran liturgies. Immediately before the presentation of the gifts or, in the Catholic liturgy, immediately before the distribution of the communion, the president and the people formally greet each other with the words, “The Peace of the Lord be with you” or similar words and may exchange a physical gesture like a handclasp.

Congregations that were accustomed to the older liturgies and which did not welcome the changes to their worship resisted the introduction of the practice. However, congregations that embraced the newer liturgies took to the practice like a duck takes to water. In charismatic Anglican and Episcopal churches the passing of the Peace was a quite exuberant part of celebrations of the Holy Eucharist. The clergy and the people would leave their seats and greet each other with hugs as well as handshakes and other more subdued forms of greeting. It was reported that in some English churches they brewed tea at this point in the liturgy. It became the practice in a number of churches for the music ensemble to begin a song or instrumental piece to signal the end of the passing of the Peace.

As I noted above, the response to the exchange of the greeting of the Peace was a mixed one. Congregations composed of people who belonged to a culture that did not encourage physical contact and public expressions of feelings experienced more discomfort with the practice than those composed of people who belonged to a culture that took a more relaxed attitude toward touching and public displays of emotions.

How first-time guests experience the passing of the Peace varies from congregation to congregation. Some report that it was the warmest and most welcoming part of the service. Others report a quite different experience. Here I am going to share with you one of my own experiences. I forget the name of the church that I was visiting. When I turned to greet those around me, I was ignored. If I moved toward one of my neighbors, their bodies stiffened and I received a stare warning me away. One or two people actually shrank from me. The hands of the one or two people whose hands I was able to clasp were limp. The non-verbal cues that I received was that my presence was not particularly welcome. The members of the congregation, when they greeted each other, showed little enthusiasm for what they were doing.

Assuming an Anglican, Catholic, Episcopal or Lutheran church has regathered to the point that it is once more celebrating the Holy Eucharist, how then should it do the “passing of the Peace?” The liturgies with which I am familiar and I am familiar with a large number of them do not require any kind of gesture such as a handclasp or a hug at the exchange of the greeting of the Peace. It is optional. For the most part it is dictated by local custom.

In the place of a handclasp or a hug, I recommend a simple bow, the kind of bow that liturgical ministers will often make as a part of the ceremonial of the liturgy. For instance, the priest and the server will bow toward each other when the server hands the flasks of wine and water to the priest and the priest receives them from the server. One might clasp one’s hands in front of one’s chest, palms together, as people do in India when greeting each other. Or one might place a hand on one’s heart as people used to do in Turkey when they greeted each other. The Turks have revived this practice since the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to their country. Or one might simply bow as the Japanese do when they greet each other.

Bowing has a long tradition in liturgical churches. It was also a common practice in the British Isles and Europe at one time but fell into desuetude. While backslapping, bear-hugging extroverts and touchy-feely people may grumble, introverts and reserved people will sigh with relief. A graceful bow is a gesture far more in keeping with the liturgy than elbow-bumps, foot-shakes, and hand waves. I definitely recommend it.

2 Easy Ways to Ensure a Great User Experience on Your Church Website

How easy is it to find information on your website?

Weird is suddenly normal.

It’s normal these days to wear a button-up shirt with pajama pants. It’s normal for children to have a calendar full of Zoom meetings. And it’s entirely acceptable to dress up for taking out the garbage. COVID-19 has made everything a little weird.

Church leaders are adjusting to new patterns of ministry in this peculiar time of pandemic. It’s not clear how long social distancing and #StayHomeSaveLives will be around. Yet, one thing is already clear: It’s time to have an excellent church website.

Many congregations are relying heavily on digital media to continue ministry in the midst of COVID-19. Websites, livestream worship services and social media have become the primary ways to connect with people. It is suddenly very important for congregations to ensure a great user experience with these digital platforms.

There is just one problem: How can a congregation make this happen? What if you don’t have a highly trained web developer or media person?

Church leaders can use a few easy tools and techniques from the field of user experience (UX) in order to ensure that your website is easy to use. These tools are fairly simple, free and can be done remotely. Read Now

The Church Fuel webinar that I also attended today emphasized that digital needs to be an integral part of every church's strategy if it hopes to rebound from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic upon attendance and giving.

Spacing Recommendation from Church Answers’ Webinar—10 Feet, not 6 (or 3 meters, not 2)

I watched the Church Answer’s webinar, “Critical Questions as Members Return: The Final COVID-19 Check Up” earlier today. You can view a video replay of the webinar on the Church Answers website. During the webinar Thom Rainer recommended that households groups should be seated with a distance of 10 feet (3 meters) in all directions from each other. 10 feet (3 meters) is more in line with the distance which researchers found that droplets could travel from a cough or sneeze. They found that droplets could travel as far as 16 feet but became more dispersed as they traveled. The droplets might linger in the air for several minutes so that a person could become infected with the virus even though the person who had coughed or sneezed had left the room. Watch Video Replay

Should Church Gathering Attendees Wear Face Masks?

By Robin G. Jordan

I have sifted through dozens of articles on church regathering since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States and I have attended a number of webinars on the subject. I am registered for two such webinars this afternoon. I try to be careful about what I post on Anglicans Ablaze because it can make the difference between life and death during the COVID-19 pandemic. I shy away from articles that describe what churches have done when they regathered. While they may contain useful information, they also contain questionable practices.

For example, one church which was regathering in an enclosed space left the wearing of face masks to the discretion of the attendees at its gatherings. While some attendees may object to wearing a face mask, wearing a face mask provides an important layer of protection in an enclosed space. If one or more of the attendees has the virus but has not developed symptoms or is asymptomatic, wearing a face mask, combined with social distancing, adequate ventilation, and a moratorium on congregational and choral singing and responsive, antiphonal, and unison recitation can significantly reduce the risk of infection. Wearing a face mask is not a matter that should be left to the attendees’ discretion.

The alternative is to test every attendee for the virus and turn away those who test positive. At this present time there is no reliable test that can be administered to attendees and which will provide those administering the test with results in a space of a few minutes.

Some people cannot wear face masks for legitimate reasons. Face masks are not recommended for children two years of age or younger. They are also not recommended for those who have difficult breathing when wearing a face mask. The latter in my opinion fall in the high-risk category and should not be attending gatherings at this stage. COVID-19 can be life-threatening for individuals suffering from respiratory disorders or other conditions that may affect their breathing.

Those planning to attend a gathering should advised beforehand that they will be expected to wear a face mask. The rationale for wearing a face mask should also be explained. Those who refuse to wear a face mask because it is “unmanly,” it is a sign of weakness, and so forth, should be politely but firmly turned away. To ensure that attendees have a proper face mask, the church may wish to supply the masks.

A number of churches that became the epicenter of a new cluster of COVID-19 cases and deaths following their regathering admitted that they may not have been as stringent in implementing necessary precautionary measures as they should have been.

One of the problems here in the United States is that CDC recommendations often use ambiguous language. The original recommendations may have been stronger but the White House has weakened them for political reasons. The rationale appears to be that the White House is seeking to court favor with a particular segment of churchgoing population by providing churches with greater latitude in what precautions they take. In doing so, the White House, however, is increasing the risk to the larger churchgoing population. Rather than science informing what steps a church should take to protect its congregation and its community, politics is informing these steps.

Thursday's Catch: Supreme Court Rejects Pandemic Restriction Challenge and More

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Pandemic Restriction on Church Services

The Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to a California pandemic policy restricting occupancy in churches to 25 percent of building capacity or no more than 100 attendees. Read More

What Did Bach Sound Like to Bach?

Scholars look to recover the original soundscape of the composer’s work. Read More

What Does Summer 2020 Look Like for Children’s Ministries?

Summer is typically one of the busiest times for children’s ministries, but this summer will obviously be different. For most churches, VBS and camps have been canceled. Weekly programming has not resumed. How do you do children’s ministry in a summer that will be so very different? Read More

I must admit to some ambivalence in posting a link to this article. In her article Jenny Smith encourages a lot of contact between children such as back yard Bible studies, parties, and that sort of thing. With a lot of infectious diseases children are major spreaders. The role of children in transmitting COVID-19 is not clear. Children can have the same virus load as adults. While some children, if they become infected with the virus, display no or mild symptoms, others can develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome that affects blood vessels and arteries. For children with immunological disorders or undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia and other forms of cancer COVID-19 is life-threatening. I would recommend that church volunteers and parents exercise caution in implementing her suggestions.

How to Avoid Sacrificing Evangelism for Discipleship (and Visa Versa)

Sadly, churches often emphasize or focus on one of the two at the expense of the other. They either drive hard toward being a church that reaches people who are far from God, or they concentrate on the growth of those within the church who already know the Lord. Rare is the church that has a biblical attitude and approach toward both. Read More

9 Steps to Reaching the Unchurched

When I first became a believer, evangelism meant “cold call,” door-to-door telling people about Jesus. That approach actually still works in some contexts, but it’s not the norm. Here are some steps to reaching the unchurched today. Read More

Chuck Lawless posted this article on his blog in 2017. How might we adapt these principles to this time of social distancing.

Scientists to Choirs: Group Singing Can Spread the Coronavirus, Despite What CDC May Say

Scientists studying tiny exhaled particles that could transmit the coronavirus say a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decision to drop warnings against choral singing is dangerous, risking more “super-spreading events” such as a Washington state choir practice linked to two deaths. The researchers say that the coronavirus can spread in respiratory aerosols, which may linger in the air for an hour or more, floating farther than the six feet commonly prescribed for social distancing. They say that choir members are particularly vulnerable to infection from airborne particles, because they exhale and inhale deeply to sing, often at close quarters in poorly ventilated rooms.

The CDC generally dismisses the potential for airborne transmission beyond six feet, although a study it published recently said the “act of singing” likely contributed to 53 of 61 people who attended a choir rehearsal in March getting sick, two of whom died of COVID-19. Since that incident north of Seattle, reports have surfaced of other outbreaks after choir performances, including one in Amsterdam that claimed four lives.

Without notice on its website May 23, the CDC altered guidance for reopening houses of worship, deleting a warning posted the previous day that said the act of singing may contribute to the transmission of COVID-19. The warning disappeared as President Trump deemed religious institutions essential, calling on governors to reopen them from coronavirus lockdowns.

“Removing that guidance is extremely dangerous and irresponsible,” said Jose Jimenez, a University of Colorado chemistry professor who studies aerosols, adding it “will put people at risk of additional super-spreading events and slow down the containment of the epidemic.”

Donald Milton, a University of Maryland bio-aerosol researcher, spoke during a May 5 webinar sponsored by multiple national music organizations — and since watched by more than 100,000 people — that stunned the choir world. Experts advised choirs and performing arts groups not to gather again to sing in person until a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 becomes widely available, even if that takes two years or more.

“The CDC’s earlier recommendations were spot on, and I’m sorry to see that they’ve changed them,” Milton said in an interview. “This is very hazardous, and we really need to not be getting together to sing.” Read More

I posted a link to this article in my article, "Let's Get Creative!" which I posted yesterday. I reposting a link to the article for wider readership. Churches deserve to have reliable information about the transmission of COVID-19 to help them in making decisions about regathering. It is reprehensible for the White House to modify CDC recommendations to serve its political agenda of the moment. The recommendations that the White House has authorized, while they may appeal to church leaders who downplay the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for layers of precautionary measures to suppress or mitigate the spread of the virus, can do a great deal of damage to the witness of many local churches across the United States. They may chose to regather without taking necessary precautions, become the nexus of a new cluster of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and irreparably damage not only their public image in their respective communities but also the public of other community churches. 

Coming Back Together after Coronavirus

I’ve heard lots of people talk about their longing and excitement for the grand reunion that will take place once life gets back to “normal.” Many churches even promoted their Easter Sunday worship as merely a mini-celebration of the resurrection—anticipating the real party once the congregation gathers together again in person.

I think this longing points to the fact that we were created to be in community—and I love hearing stories like this (but that’s for another article). Many churches wish that one Sunday a switch is going to flip and everything will go back to the way things were before. But this scenario seems unlikely. As we look to other parts of the world that are ahead of North America in the fight against COVID-19, there are few options we can consider. And, of course, this all depends on your area’s restrictions and guidelines. Read More

I am posting a link to this article because it does contain a number of good ideas. At the same time I do not share Bryan Haley's enthusiasm for hearing people talking about regathering. One reason is that I believe that repeatedly talking about how great it will be to regather may encourage church members to urge church leaders to make rash decisions. The folks who are now eager for their church to regather may also be the same folks who were complaining not too long ago about the church's gatherings. Those who think in terms of their church having a grand reopening are not thinking about what might be the consequences of such a reopening--a not so grand closure of the church when it becomes the epicenter of a new cluster of COVID-19 cases and deaths. While some readers may view me as overly-cautious, my life experiences have taught me that regathering requires a cautious approach since it involves what may be life-and-death decisions. Eagerness to regather must be balanced against the need to protect the elderly and more vulnerable not only in the church but also in the community. If other epidemics are anything to go by, we are still in the "first wave" of this one. The decisions to reopen the states are in many cases being made not based on the level of risk to the residents of the state but due to political and economic pressures. Toning down the talk about regathering may be a necessary step to prevent ill-conceived or reckless decisions.

12 Marks of Bad Church Websites [Repost]

When our church consulting teams hire “spies” to visit churches, we usually give them only the name and address of the church. We want them to see if the church has a website and if the website is actually attractive and helpful. Here are several problems our “spies” have found with websites. Read More

I first posted a link to this article when it was originally posted on Chuck Lawless' own website. I believe that the article is even more important today than it was then. As other writers have emphasized, a church's website is now its front door. If the front page of the church's website does not grab and hold the attention of visitors to the website in the first sixty seconds of visiting the site, they are not going to take the time to read the other pages, listen to recordings of the pastor's sermons, or view any videos of the services that the church has been streaming online. One click and they will be gone. It is one of the unpleasant realities of today's world. I am in the habit of visiting church websites to see what churches are doing with their websites in hopes that I can learn from what they are doing. The websites that grab and hold my attention are those which do not have a static front page but which have a full screen video of the life and worship of the church. They provide visitors with a foretaste of what it might be like if they were to become involved in the church. The websites that quickly turn me off are those that show very little imagination or creativity. Among such websites are what may be described as "cookie cutter" websites. They all look a like as if they have been stamped from the same dough with a cookie cutter. They lack personality. Whether or not we realize it, every church has a personality of its own. It may be a good personality or an awful one. Even the greatest website in the world is not going to remedy the latter.

Trump Makes Surprise Visit at Historic Church Near White House

Lafayette Park

Episcopal leaders “outraged” that protestors were cleared for the president’s brief appearance where he raised a Bible for a photo op at St. John’s.

It began with Attorney General Bill Barr standing with his hands casually in his pockets, not wearing a tie, surveying the scene at Lafayette Park across from the White House, where several thousand protesters had gathered for more demonstrations after the police killing of George Floyd.

President Donald Trump had announced he would soon be addressing the nation from the White House Rose Garden, as a 7 p.m. curfew in the city loomed and a mass of law enforcement, including US Secret Service agents, Park Police, and National Guardsmen, stood sentry, many dressed in riot gear.

Moments before 6:30 p.m., just when Trump said he would begin his address, the officers suddenly marched forward, directly confronting the protesters as many held up their hands, saying, “Don't shoot.”

Soon, law enforcement officers were aggressively forcing the protesters back, firing tear gas, and deploying flash bangs into the crowd to disperse them from the park for seemingly no reason. It was a jarring scene as police in the nation's capital forcefully cleared young men and women gathered legally in a public park on a sunny evening, all of it on live television.

With smoke still wafting and isolated tussles continuing in the crowd, Trump emerged in the Rose Garden for a dramatic split-screen of his own creation. Read More

Also See:
George Floyd death: Trump's church visit shocks religious leaders
Trump Abused ‘our sacred space’ with Photo Op, Bishop Says

By all accounts, Lafayette Park could have been cordoned off several hours earlier before a large crowd of protesters had gathered. Eye witnesses report that the crowd made no provocative moves toward law enforcement. There was no need for the aggressive dispersal of the demonstrators with tear gas and flash bangs that occurred before the president's speech. One might suspect President Trump of engaging in political theater. The president posing with a Bible before St. John's church and his subsequent visit to the Catholic shrine of St. John-Paul II appears to have been aimed at evangelical and Catholic members of his base and has been widely-criticized.

Man Accused of Pepper Spraying Protesters and Police Arrested in Murray

Murray State University's Arboretum

A man was arrested Tuesday in Murray after police say he pepper sprayed protesters.

A source tells Local 6 the man sprayed two protesters, as well as police officers. The source says the man was not part of the protest.

One person was taken to the hospital. Read More

Also See:
White Pastors: Our Decision to Show Up Matters
A Soul Check for White Christians

Murray is a sleepy university town in a predominantly rural county. The demonstration was relatively low key affair in comparison to the larger demonstrations elsewhere in the United States and around the world. A small group of people from the community followed a predetermined route from the Arboretum to Sixteenth Street and back again. If anything, it was a token demonstration. A local group felt the need to express their solidarity with other peaceful demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police.

The Klux Klux Clan has in the past sought to create division in the community over race and to recruit new members for their organization. The community, led by its pastors, has resisted the attempts of the Klan to create such a division and establish a presence in the community. Yet the community does have individuals who are alternate right and white supremacist in their political leanings. In the wake of the 2016 presidential election a Nazi-splinter group attempted to recruit followers on the university campus. I have heard at least one student boast that he was a Nazi. I am also aware of individuals who watch Holocaust denial videos and other alternate right propaganda on Youtube.

While I have no personal knowledge of the attacker's political affiliations, I am inclined to suspect that the attacker took his cue from President Trump's speech on how the states should respond to violent demonstrators and looters. One study shows that a number of individuals who have been arrested for violent behavior took their cue from some remark that the president made. For this reason among others even the president's allies have urged him to be more careful in what he says.

Image credit: Murray State University

Despite Widespread Economic Toll, Most Americans Still Favor Controlling Outbreak Over Restarting Economy, Post-ABC Poll inds

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say the coronavirus outbreak has exacted a severe economic toll on their communities, but a majority of a divided country still says controlling the virus’s spread is more important than trying to restart the economy, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The nationwide survey finds that despite the shared disruption of their daily lives since stay-at-home orders began, partisans differ sharply on how the country should move forward. Read More

Also See:
27% unlikely to be vaccinated against the coronavirus; Republicans, conservatives especially: POLL

The United States is seeing division not only over whether reopening the economy should take priority over suppressing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 but also over who will receive immunization if a safe and effective vaccine is developed. These divisions are one of the reasons that church leaders cannot assume that the United States will be virus-free sometime in the near future and must make plans for their churches that take into consideration this reality. 

Let’s Get Creative!

By Robin G. Jordan

David Manner’s article, “If We Can’t Sing…” got me thinking. Singing, whether it is congregational or choral, is an important part of Christian worship. But it is not the only way that Christians worship. I have read a number of articles and books, which argue that it is common mistake to confuse singing and worship. They also maintain that it is a common mistake to refer to the time in the service when the music ensemble leads the congregation in singing God’s praises as the “worship time.” Worship encompasses more than the act of singing. The kind of worship that the Bible tells us God wants the most from us is a life of obedience. The General Thanksgiving in The Book of Common Prayer of 1662 puts it this way:

And we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

With singing and loud talking implicated in the transmission of the COVID-19 virus at gatherings, churches, when they relaunch their in-person services, will need to place a moratorium on congregational and choral singing and recitation such as hymns, worship songs, anthems, solos, and responsive and unison reading. These activities increase the emission of airborne droplets that may contain COVID-19 virus particles and facilitate the spread of the virus. Since it is also recommended that members of congregations wear face masks as well as gather in a large, open room which has its doors and windows opened to the outdoors and is ventilated by electric fans and sit in household groups at least six feet apart and separated from each other by an empty pew or row of chairs in front and back, singing and loud talking would also prove difficult.

Congregations scattered around a large, open room do not produce the volume of sound that congregation seated close proximity in the same room produces. Unless their voices are amplified by a sound system, choirs and music ensembles whose members are standing or sitting at least six feet apart from each other in all directions also do not produce the volume of sound that they would produce if they stood or sat close to each other. Face masks will muffle the voices of the congregation and choir or music ensemble and electric fans will produce a loud background noise. All these precautionary measures, if they are used singularly will do little to prevent the buildup of COVID-19 virus particles in the room but when they used in combination in accordance with the principle of layers of intervention, or protection, they will significantly reduce the risk to those present.

While we may not be able to collectively praise God in song during such a moratorium, we can still praise him individually. Youtube.Com has a number of videos of choirs, music ensembles, and congregations singing hymns, worship songs, and service music to which we can sing along in our own homes. I have used this resource for a number of years to learn new hymns, worship songs, and service music. I sing along with the video until I have mastered the new song.

Hymnary.Org has the lyrics of a number of hymns from a number of hymnals. Click "all representative texts" or "compare texts." Jubilate Hymns and Hope Publishing Company also have the lyrics of hymns and worship songs under copyright to them on their websites.

The UMC's Discipleship Ministries and SmallChurchMusic.Com have downloadable mp3s of hymn and worship song tunes. They may be downloaded free of charge. I also use these resources to expand my personal repertoire of tunes.

All Souls Langham Place in London has been recording individual members of their choir and orchestra in their homes and then combining their voices and instruments digitally. The Church of the Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, Minnesota has done the same with the members of Spiritu, their music ensemble. These churches have posted their videos to Youtube.Com where they can be replayed. Watch All Souls Choir and Orchestra perform Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend’s “In Christ Alone” and Spiritu, Michael Joncas’ “Shelter Me.”

In the early years of Christianity the desert fathers, monks who lived in the deserts of Egypt and Syria, had a particular way of singing the psalms each day as a part of their common devotional life. One monk would sing a psalm while the other monks mediated on the words of the psalm. After each psalm the monks prayed silently or aloud as the Holy Spirit led them. We can adopt a similar practice. Churches can record individual members of their choirs or music ensembles singing a hymn or worship song at home, combine their voices digitally, record the result, and then play the recording in the service while the congregation mediates on the words of the hymn or worship song. After the hymn or worship song the congregation can be invited to quietly or silently pray. Churches can also record soloists at home and then play the recording during the service.

We can also follow this practice at home. Watch a video of a hymn or worship song online. Sing along if the Holy Spirit moves you. At the conclusion of the song, pray as the Spirit leads you.

Another option is to hold outdoor, or lawn, services, the weather permitting. The best spot is a breezy one. Research to date suggests that there is less likelihood of the transmission of the COVID-19 virus outdoors provided people are not crowded together in close proximity to each other and are wearing face masks, and the movement of air in the space that they are occupying is dispersing any concentration of droplets containing COVID-19 virus particles. While the acoustics outdoors would be less than ideal, it might permit some singing. The congregation should be seated by households at a six foot or more distance from each other in every direction and should wear face masks.

Rather than lamenting the temporary loss of singing from our services, we should be creative. For instance, churches can encourage family singing at home. This would greatly enhance and enrich our congregational singing once we are able to sing together again. The late James Rawlings Sydnor attributed the decline in congregational singing in America’s churches in part to the decline of family singing in America’s homes. Churches can email to their families weekly playlists with links to videos, lyrics, and mp3s as well as encourage the families to sing together at home.

I grew up in a household where the members of the household sung hymns as they went about their daily activities. When we went for a drive in the car, we also sang hymns. My mother was for many years a member of her church’s chancel choir. My grandfather had been a church organist in his younger days. My grandmother’s family had attended both the local Church of England parish church and the local non-conformist chapel. She had acquired a love of singing hymns at an early age.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity for families to sing together at home, which could lead to a renaissance of congregational singing when congregations are able to sing together again.

When I have led congregational singing, I have encouraged those who did not believe that they sung very well and were consequently uncomfortable adding their voices to the singing to follow the words along in their hymnal or on the screen and to hum the tune while the rest of the congregation sung. Singing at home, however, may give a number of people a chance to discover their voices. I have also pointed out what matters to God is not how beautifully we sing or that we sing at all but whether our hearts are turned to him and our lives reflect that turning.

The Journey Church in Murray, Kentucky in which I was involved for roughly 10 years, from about 9 months after it was launched to shortly after its move to its present facility--the indoor arena at Murray State University, holds periodic "evenings of worship." These gatherings focus solely on singing God's praises. While thinking about how I might transform my comments in response to David’s article on his blog into an article for my blog with a link to his article, I concluded that it would not be difficult to transfer such a gathering online, using clips from videos of services that a church had archived or video recordings of a church's choir or music ensemble singing individually at home or in another setting and combined into a single video. The "evening of worship" could be streamed and the church members could sing along with the choir or music ensemble at home.

Except in churches that have a strong tradition of congregational singing, much of what we see in contemporary churches is what I call parallel worship. Some members of the congregation sing along with the music ensemble while others listen to the ensemble. This is parallel worship which is similar to parallel play observed in children of a certain age. Children of this age play beside each other but they do not play together.

Parallel worship characterized the worship of the Medieval Church. The priest recited the Mass, the choir sung the service music, and the people engaged in their private devotions. They were all worshiping in the same room but in parallel and not together.

Among the results of the Protestant Reformation was a revival of congregational singing. In the Lutheran Churches the congregation began to sing chorales; in the Reformed Churches, metrical psalms. This included congregations in the Reformed Church of England. While she herself preferred the cathedral choral music, derisively referring to the tunes of the metrical psalms as “Geneva jigs,” Elizabeth I permitted the use of metrical psalms in English parish churches. "Geneva jigs" was not entirely an inaccurate description of the metrical psalms. The tunes were based upon popular ballad and folk dance tunes. Metrical psalms were so popular with the English people that thousands of people would gather at King’s Cross, London and sing them for hours on end. Both the English nobility and the English common people learned the words and tunes by heart and sung them as they went about their daily lives.

I am not arguing that parallel worship is the most desirable way to worship God in song but under the circumstances it may be what we must settle for. A church could host an "evening of worship" online to which church members would be invited and to which they in turn could invite others. It would be something like the Mitch Miller TV singalongs of the sixties if you are old enough to remember them. It cannot be compared with the massed voices of a congregation and choir singing "with one voice" but it is a good way of encouraging church members to sing God's praises.

All Souls Music has posted a video of its Virtual Prom Praise 2020 – A Festival of Hope online. It shows how a church might do such an “evening of worship,” using archived video recordings and more recent material.

I don’t believe that we should despair over the limitations that the COVID-19 pandemic is imposing upon the services and gatherings of the local church. Rather we should see them as an opportunity to use the creativeness that God has given us. I believe that God will work through us in ways that may amaze us to bring about a renewal of worship not only in our churches but also in our daily lives

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The building of the church to which I have been ministering over the past few years sits empty except for roughly two hours on Sunday mornings. For those two hours a small group of people, rarely more than 10 people and often less than 10, gathers to sing a few hymns, read a service from the Prayer Book, hear two Scripture readings and a sermon or homily, and twice a month to celebrate Holy Communion. After the service they crowd into the kitchen; eat cake, donuts, and other sweets and drink coffee. They then go home until the next Sunday. The church has little involvement with the community. Only two members of the congregation live in the community; the rest live elsewhere. The building is gradually falling into a state of disrepair. The building could be used in a number of ways to serve the community but the congregation is not interested in doing that. As I was quite bluntly told, the congregation is not interested in community engagement. Its members want to quietly worship together, socialize afterwards, and then go their separate ways.

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Two areas that need our attention prior to and following gathering again at church are our environments and our policies and procedures. Read More

Face masks should also be worn during the service, not just before and after the service. There is evidence that singing and loud talking such as in responsive readings or congregational prayers is a significant emitter of air-borne COVID-19 virus particles. In its recommendations for churches the State of California does not recommend singing or loud talking. The CDC Interim Guidelines for Faith Communities also did not recommend singing and loud talking until the White House removed the recommendation for political reasons. In an earlier CDC document which the White House did not release, it was also recommended that churches , when they do begin to regather, hold their gatherings outdoors or in a large, open room with its doors and windows opened to the exterior of the building and ventilated by electric fans. These recommendations were consistent with the findings of how the COVID-19 virus was transmitted in hospitals and other settings. This document further recommended that households should be seated at least six feet apart from each other with an empty pew of row of chairs in front of them and behind them. Face masks were recommended for everybody except children two years of age or under and those who had difficulty breathing when wearing a face mask. It was also recommended that children should sit with their parents or caregivers.

While such preventive measures as regathering out-of-doors or in a large, open room with the doors and windows open to the outside and ventilated by electric fans, social distancing, and wearing face masks will not individually by themselves prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, they will significantly reduce its spread when used in combination in accordance with the principle of layers of intervention, or protection. While we cannot make the attendees of our gatherings totally safe, we can take steps to substantially reduce the risk to them.

Where Is Future Church Attendance Heading? 10 Questions. 10 Hunches.

Talk to any church leader over the last decade, and they’ll tell you it feels more challenging than ever to get people to come to church on a Sunday.

Talk to any leader who is reopening his or her church, and they’ll tell you it’s even harder now. Current in-person attendance levels appear to be almost universally sparse.

Even in growing churches, the competition for peoples’ time, attention and devotion seems to get more intense every year.

You’ve felt it, too.

So, what’s up? And where is future church attendance heading?

I’m a firm believer in the future of the church and the gathered church. It’s here to stay not because we always get it right, but because the church is Jesus’ idea, not ours.

Still, with everything in the culture changing, how do you navigate toward a better future?

One step is to start asking solid questions.

Why? Because usually the future isn’t pioneered by the clarity of the answers nearly as much as it by the quality of the questions.

Ask the right questions, and you’ll eventually get the right answers. Fail to ask the questions, and you’re sunk.

Here are ten questions worth asking. Read More

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We may be ready to move on but is the COVID-19 virus? It doesn't look like it.

A Six-Month Spiritual Check Up for the First Half of 2020

This coming Sunday marks the halfway point of 2020, so it’s a good time for this year’s check up and goal-setting for the rest of the year. This first half of the year has been a most strange one, so perhaps these questions can guide your check up.... Read More

Pssst... That Face Mask Isn't a Force Field against the Coronavirus UPDATED

Commentary: While COVID-19 thrives, are some people are letting their guard -- and masks -- down too early? Here's what I see where I live.

My local Starbucks reopened to foot traffic last week. With a sign on the door that said to come on in, I've been missed. It also said that if you're not wearing a face mask, one would be issued to you. In my county, wearing a face covering in any building is now required by order. A man followed me into the store, his face as naked as when he got out of bed. Nobody said a word. Nobody offered him a mask.

As I shop for food and supplies in my area, I can feel the mood lighten around me. The days are getting brighter and warmer. More businesses are opening. And even as the US scoots past its grimmest milestone yet -- 100,000 people confirmed dead from COVID-19 -- I can't help but feel that a false sense of security has taken hold around me, a seeming belief that wearing a face covering might keep someone from getting sick. As we face a potential second wave of coronavirus cases, this worries me. Just look at Wisconsin.

Here's what I mean. There was the Starbucks barista in a flimsy mask who ventured beyond the plexiglass divider and leaned in to bring me my drink, our faces inches apart. Excellent service, ordinarily, but would she have done the same if we weren't both wearing a mask? Then there was the man at a jam-packed Costco who removed his face mask inside the store to take a sip from a water bottle. And another man a few feet away whose cloth mask covered his mouth only, his nostrils jutting out like binoculars. Let's not forget the woman in Trader Joe's who crossed the aisle right in front of me to grab an item from the shelf instead of waiting for me to move on, bringing our faces within spitting distance -- if it weren't for our masks, hers a cotton panel draped across her nose and mouth.

Are these signs that people are becoming so comfortable wearing face masks that they feel invincible? Or is it more a function of human nature that warm weather and loosening restrictions make the invisible threat of serious disease somehow less urgent?

I have a personal reason to be cautious, to keep from acquiring or transmitting the coronavirus. My mother. Physically fragile (please don't tell her I said that,) but a woman of inner reserves who rises to the occasion, my septuagenarian mom is a recent widow. Read More

Also Read:
Protests across the U.S. prompt concerns over exacerbating the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak NEW
Protests could cause catastrophic setback for controlling coronavirus, experts say NEW
Will Protests Set Off a Second Viral Wave?
Americans Aren’t Getting the Advice They Need
Quarantine Fatigue Is Real
How COVID-19 Is Being Underreported in Most States
States Where the Virus is Growing the Fastest Right Now

The World Health Organization was initially reluctant to recommend the wearing of face masks out of the concern that those wearing face masks would become lax in complying with other precautionary measures such as social distancing. The WHO's concern does not appear to have been unfounded. What I am observing in my community is not so much people wearing face masks but not observing other precautionary measures but people not wearing faces masks and not observing other precautionary measures. It is evident that one part of the community's population has bought into the argument that the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic has been exaggerated and that such measures are unnecessary. President Trump's refusal to wear a face mask in public and his urging that Americans resume their normal lives as if there is no pandemic has not helped. In the meantime the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in my county is slowly but steadily rising as are the number of such cases in other counties of Kentucky and neighboring Tennessee.