Social Distancing | Reveds's Blog

Shepherding the Church in a time of pandemic is a delicate balancing act. You want to move forward in faith, encouraging the congregation to trust in the Lord and be bold in worship and service. At the same time, you want to caution the flock from provoking the Lord through our own carelessness and lack of regard for others.

The elders of my congregation met last night to discuss how best to continue the ministry of our Church as the Coronavirus Pandemic progresses. We struggled with balancing our desire to be together as the body of Christ in worship, fellowship, and service with the need to protect the flock entrusted to us by the Lord. We do not want to operate from a spirit of fear and timidity; but trusting in the providence of God, we want to move forward responsibly and cautiously.

I thought I would share the following recommendations from our elders here to show what we are doing to move forward in faith:

Members may choose to worship in person, but we ask that they be responsible and consider the needs of others by maintaining a safe distance and reducing contact as much as possible.
High risk members (65/older or immune compromised), are asked stay home and join us for worship on Cable or YouTube.
Those who are in any way feeling unwell (fever, cough, body aches), are urged to stay home, letting the Elders and Deacons know how we can minister to them.
The Church will continue with a “Touchless” Worship Service. We have removed the pew Bibles and hymnals, as all lyrics will be on the screen, and members are encouraged to bring their own Bible. Pews will be marked off so that those in attendance will be encouraged to sit a safe distance apart.
The offering plate will not be passed during the service, but those attending are encouraged to place their offering in the plate before or after the service, and those at home to may give as best they can (bring to the church, mail, or online donation).
No nursery will be provided during worship, and parents of young children are asked to ensure that their children stay with them at all times.
Sunday School will continue to be offered online through Facebook each Sunday morning for the children, and via Zoom with Pastor Sayler for the adults at 11:00 am.
There will be no Fellowship Time or in-person Sunday School following worship until further notice.

The elders want to assure the Church that we are working to keep the building clean by wiping down the pews, door handles and other furniture after every service. Masks are encouraged for those who attend in person, but not required. In all things, the elders ask our members to use their best judgment and to consider the needs of others when deciding to come in person.

We are mindful that the Church is never closed because the Church is not a building, it is the people of God. We shared in thanksgiving to God that even in these troubling times the Lord has supplied for the needs of the Church through the continued financial and spiritual support of her members. There have been moments of great blessing in the midst of this crisis, showing God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.

We continue to pray for the day when we can encourage everyone to attend in-person, but realize that returning to a sense of normal in the Church is not like flipping a light switch, but more like turning a dimmer. We will slowly, cautiously, and prayerfully restart the ministries of the Church as the Spirit leads us in wisdom and discernment.

I’d be interested in hearing how your church are responding to the Coronavirus, and what their plans are for moving forward. Leave your comments below.

Grace and peace,

If you have read much of my blog, or heard any of my sermons, you know that one of my role-models in the Christian life is Robert Murray M’Cheyne, the young Scottish pastor of the early 19^th Century. Much of M’Cheyne’s work was directed toward bringing renewal and reformation to the Church, having been pained by the spiritual deadness of many of the parishes he visited. If you read just a sample of his sermons, you find a great passion for Christ, and an earnest plea for Christians to fly to Jesus.

As you read his memoirs, you find that he was often of poor health, and sadly died at the young age of 29. His good friend and fellow pastor Andrew Bonar collected his memoirs, letters and sermons, without which the memory of M’Cheyne would have been completely lost. I often turn to these memoirs when I have a couple of moments to spare, and happened to come across one of the letters that M’Cheyne wrote to a member of his parish on finding Gods blessings in the midst of sickness. I thought this highly relevant to our day, and thought to share it with you here.

How cares and troubles sanctify
March 31, 1840.

Dear M.,

I may not see you for a little, as I am not strong; and therefore I send you a line in answer to your letter. I like to hear from you, and especially when God is revealing himself to your soul. All His doings are wonderful. It is, indeed, amazing how He makes use of affliction to make us feel His love more. Your house is, I trust, in some measure like that house in Bethany of which it is said, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” They had different degrees of grace. One had more faith, and another more love, still Jesus loved them all. Martha was more inclined to be worldly than Mary, yet Jesus loved them both. It is a happy house when Jesus loves all that dwell in it. Surely it is next door to heaven.

The message of Martha and Mary to Christ (John 11:3) teaches you to carry all your temporal as well as your spiritual troubles to his feet. Leave them there. Carry one another’s case to Jesus. Is it not a wonderful grace in God to have given you peace in Christ, before laying you down on your long sick-bed? It would have been a wearisome lie if you had been an enemy to God, and then it would have been over hell. Do you feel Rom. 5:3 to be true in your experience? You cannot love trouble for its own sake; bitter must always be bitter, and pain must always be pain. God knows you cannot love trouble. Yet for the blessings that it brings, He can make you pray for it. Does trouble work patience in you? Does it lead you to cling closer to the Lord Jesus—to hide deeper in the rock? Does it make you “be still and know that He is God?” Does it make you lie passive in his hand, and know no will but his? Thus does patience work experience—an experimental acquaintance with Jesus. Does it bring you a fuller taste of his sweetness, so that you know whom you have believed? And does this experience give you a further hope of glory—an other anchor cast within the veil? And does this hope give you a heart that cannot be ashamed, because convinced that God has loved you, and will love you to the end? Ah! then you have got the improvement of trouble, if it has led you thus. Pray for me still, that I may get the good of all God’s dealings with me. Lean all on Jesus. Pray for a time of the pouring out of God’s Spirit, that many more may be saved. I hope the Lord’s work is not done in this place yet.

Ever your affectionate pastor, etc**

First of all, I am humbled by the pastoral skill demonstrated here. In this time of social-distancing, I am making every effort to call and check in with my congregation. But M’Cheyne’s letters are truly amazing in how he can draw out spiritual truths and apply them to his readers.

Secondly, I find his pastoral instruction so helpful, even for today. While we are not to love the coronavirus for it’s own sake, we can see how this time of uncertainly teaches us to cling closer to the Lord, to hide deeper in him, and brings us “into a fuller taste of his sweetness.” For that we can truly be grateful.

Heed the advise of Pastor M’Cheyne, “lean on Jesus,” and “pray for an outpouring of Gods Spirit.” If we do nothing other than those two things in this Coronavirus season, this time will not be lost to us.

Grace and Peace!

** McCheyne, Robert Murray, and Andrew A. Bonar. Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne. Edinburgh; London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1894. Print.