If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the service from yesterday I want to strongly encourage you to. It can be found on the homepage of our website. It’s a message from Psalm 46 followed by some prayers from several of our leaders. I believe it will encourage you to not be afraid.
After meeting with Council and Staff yesterday, and reading the updates today from Rhode Island officials, it is clear to me that the best course of action is to put a pause on not only our Sunday gatherings but all small groups and gatherings. The state is setting restrictions to go through the end of March. That’s about two weeks and lands us just before Easter, which is Sunday April 12th. At the end of March the governor will reassess and, at that time, we can decide how to approach April and especially Good Friday and Easter.
The state is encouraging bans on all gatherings of 25+ but is also encouraging a suspension of gatherings that are not essential. Technically most of our groups fall under 25 but the reality is that some nights we have multiple groups happening in different parts of the building. Wednesday nights, for example, we have four groups meeting. President Trump today asked for a pause on all gatherings of ten or more.
I’m also bending toward a more conservative decision on account of our location. We are in the heart of the city and in the heart of a community overflowing with at-risk people including elderly, the sick, homeless and refugees. If we were a church out in the Rhode Island suburbs it would be a different thing. Cities are places where people are in close proximity and this brings exponential concerns. That’s why the mayor of Providence has been more extreme in his call for action than the governor.
So this is the plan until the end of March. We will put a pause on all gatherings, large and small. At the end of March we will decide what to do for April.
How can we flourish during this time?
Two weeks isn’t really a long time. I don’t think any of us will fall apart if we aren’t gathering. But we do want to make every effort to minister to one another, especially as some in the community are struggling with fear and anxiety. Here are a few ideas.
On Sundays we will do a live recording of a message and some prayers. If the ban on gatherings extends beyond March then we are definitely going to “up our game” to video streaming with live worship.
If the suspension of gathering extends into April we will have an online Good Friday experience. Alli and a handful of Ren artists are working on that. It would crush me to not gather on Easter. I’m hoping that we can at least gather outside somewhere. Again, we’ll make these decisions at the start of April.
Some of the small groups will be using technology called Zoom to keep everyone connected through video during this time.
One of the things we discussed at Council yesterday was the importance of old-school phone calls. This can go a long way. Consider who you can reach out to with a phone call just to touch base. Ask them how they are doing and how you can pray for them. Have church on the phone. This is a tangible way to fulfill the “one anothers”.
Just because we are refraining from gatherings doesn’t mean we cannot visit each other or meet up at a park to go for a walk. The weather is getting warmer. We can also reach out to someone and let them know we are swinging by Target and offer to pick something up for them. Doing errands for people in the church or even with them is a great way to stay connected.
These are just the ideas that come to mind. One of our leaders yesterday prayed for creativity and exhorted us to really stretch our thinking to devise ways to flourish during this time. It doesn’t need to be a season of growing weak and limp. Not at all! This can be a time for the church to shine brightly. This can be an opportunity to serve our neighbors. God is not discouraged by the government ban on gatherings. No way! Our God is an opportunist and He is shaking things up for His purposes! Let’s be seeking Him to lead us in ways that harness the situation for the advance of the kingdom.
Feel free to respond back with thoughts or questions or needs. Please pray for me during this season that God would give me wisdom. Pray for the Council too as they have been working together to think these things through. I love you all!
-Scott