Will Churches Ever Go Back?

[Stanley76]

What if there's someone in Fainn's church that needs exactly what the pastor is doing? Who gets what they want? That person? Or Fainn? Being a pastor has always been an incredibly difficult vocation. Speaking from personal experience, I believe it's harder than ever now.

But I thought it was all about me. Could I be mistaken?

You know, Fainn isnt wrong, either. Theres a balance to be struck, right?

That's my point. It's incredibly difficult being a pastor.

I agree whole heartedly with your point. A pastor and his wife are constantly hit with complaints by members pissing and moaning. I pray for my pastor all the time. I try to be very supportive of my pastor. I firmly believe that if you thing your pastor is not doing right, pray for them. If you will spend time in prayer for them, either they will change or you will realize you are wrong. You will then repent and start supporting them.

You crackers crack me up.

There's a giant third possibility in your either-or, you know, which leads to other results.

Not sure but I don't think they're from Georgia or Florida, Yankee Bill.

[hugodrax]

What if there's someone in Fainn's church that needs exactly what the pastor is doing? Who gets what they want? That person? Or Fainn? Being a pastor has always been an incredibly difficult vocation. Speaking from personal experience, I believe it's harder than ever now.

But I thought it was all about me. Could I be mistaken?

You know, Fainn isnt wrong, either. Theres a balance to be struck, right?

That's my point. It's incredibly difficult being a pastor.

I agree whole heartedly with your point. A pastor and his wife are constantly hit with complaints by members pissing and moaning. I pray for my pastor all the time. I try to be very supportive of my pastor. I firmly believe that if you thing your pastor is not doing right, pray for them. If you will spend time in prayer for them, either they will change or you will realize you are wrong. You will then repent and start supporting them.

You crackers crack me up.

There's a giant third possibility in your either-or, you know, which leads to other results.

Not sure but I don't think they're from Georgia or Florida, Yankee Bill.

Hush, rube. You're afraid of 40 degrees. That's shirt-sleeve weather for men.

[sweetandsour]

Our church is really trying, but having a really tough time. Covid is rising its' ugly head in this entire area. There's still live streaming for worship, and zoom for Bible study, but it's not the same. Sunday school both f2f and via zoom was cancelled this morning. The associate pastor has Covid, and the pastor is quarantined, so there was a live discussion with a couple of members and another associate pastor streamed this morning for worship. I made a hunt with a grandson this morning and was home in time to watch the livestream.

[FredS]

Be sure to keep up your tithe during these difficult times even especially if you're not gathering in person and even especially if you're not picking up on everything the Pastor is laying down.
Consult your tax advisor for year-end giving strategies.

[tuttle]

Our church has thankfully been able to remain open during Covidtide. We don't own a building and were renting space adjacent to an old folks home so when this all came down they asked us to vacate which we happily did in order to keep the elderly safe. As it happened sort of last minute we were unable to meet for a couple weeks until we found a place. So far I think we've physically met in 3 or 4 different locations for worship on Sundays.

Masking was initially strongly recommended upon entering the building. Strongly recommended to be removed during worship. But always optional. I'd say 90% don't wear masks. The only drop in our attendance due to Covid has been one family and an elderly lady that has voluntarily sat out, that we keep connected with via Zoom.

We are a smallish group though so it's been pretty easy to stay under the radar (during the earlier county's capacity% caps and current mask mandates) and keep things going. I say it's been easy, but maybe I should qualify that our church hasn't been tempted in the same ways and we've been blessed to be virtually "in one accord" during this. I know that's not the same for others.

All of this really came into focus yesterday. I'm a part of an online group of pastors/worship leaders that I sometimes remember to look at. When I did yesterday I saw a long thread on the topic of what their churches are doing, specifically during worship, with all the regulations, etc. And everyone, save one person, in over a hundred comments, indicated that they either were not meeting in person at all, or that they were meeting with a limited capacity, or that they required masking the entire time, disallow the Supper, and a handful of other various requirements. Many of whom made mention of the fact that they are in areas where they are perfectly free to meet and/or not require masking/distancing, and yet they still do not meet or they require more than the authorities have asked!

I'll save any musings of whether they are right or wrong here. Suffice it to say Shepherds need to lead their sheep the best way they see fit. But after reading through the comments I became so much more thankful for the local body of Christ where the Lord has place me and my family.

[BeefyG]

We’ve been having F2F and live-streaming for Sunday morning and evening services. We are planning on restarting F2F Sunday school on Easter. As the youth teacher, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it yet but it will be interesting either way. We definitely have people at polar opposites in our church when it comes to masking up.

[wosbald]

+JMJ+

Our church has thankfully been able to remain open during Covidtide. …

[…]

My people's liturgical tradition calls it the "Fourth Year of Trumptime".

[Del]

Our parish has grown during the county lock-downs.

Visitors are coming, sometimes from long distances, to attend a reverent Catholic Mass without having to wear masks.

[Hovannes]

We're back inside, limited to 25% capacity and no singing according to the Newsom protocols.
Got to wear the masks though, but at least we're inside!

[Del]

We're back inside, limited to 25% capacity and no singing according to the Newsom protocols.
Got to wear the masks though, but at least we're inside!

I couldn't tell if it was a church.... or a homeless camp.

[Gabriel]

We’ve been having regular services since last spring. It is recommended that folks where masks when in the more crowded areas (hallways and such) and consideration of all is encouraged.

We have have grown a bit as people are attracted to Christian fellowship and worship. Many churches in our area are far less open.

[AFRS]

We're back inside, limited to 25% capacity and no singing according to the Newsom protocols.
Got to wear the masks though, but at least we're inside!

In the mean time This Pastor is in jail for obeying God rather than man. Please note; he's Canadian.

[Hovannes]

Things are loosening up around here.
There have been no recent reports of the "Rovers"(units of State Covid restriction enforcers) shuttering places since the growing recall campaign attracted Newsom's attention.

[tuttle]

We're back inside, limited to 25% capacity and no singing according to the Newsom protocols.
Got to wear the masks though, but at least we're inside!

In the mean time This Pastor is in jail for obeying God rather than man. Please note; he's Canadian.

I've been tracking this. It's insane. Praise God for James Coates and his congregation.

[Cleon]

We had our first carry in meal in over year after the service this past Sunday. We changed the format a little so that we had servers along the buffet line to fill up plates. We also asked everyone to wear a mask as they went through the line. Come to think of it now, we should have done this a long time ago.

• We have people that habitually stick their bare hands in the dishes and pick food, so that stopped.

• We have people that habitually cough and sneeze without covering their mouth. The masks helped since we don't have splatter screens over the buffet line.

• Clean up was so much easier since people are more messy when they dip their own food.

[sweetandsour]

We're back inside, limited to 25% capacity and no singing according to the Newsom protocols.
Got to wear the masks though, but at least we're inside!

In the mean time This Pastor is in jail for obeying God rather than man. Please note; he's Canadian.

I've been tracking this. It's insane. Praise God for James Coates and his congregation.

Prayers his way, for wisdom, and safety.

[AFRS]

We're back inside, limited to 25% capacity and no singing according to the Newsom protocols.
Got to wear the masks though, but at least we're inside!

In the mean time This Pastor is in jail for obeying God rather than man. Please note; he's Canadian.

I've been tracking this. It's insane. Praise God for James Coates and his congregation.

You won't see it on MSM, but there have been ongoing protests outside the detention facility.

[Sir Moose]

We added a second service so people could spread out more. The rows of seats were spread out more and people were encouraged to spread out within the rows, but it's all back to normal now. At this point, we are essentially business-as-usual. The main differences are that bulletins, offering, and communion are all self-service. A few people wear masks...very few. I'm not aware of anybody in our congregation who has gotten and/or passed the 'rona.

I saw a nice article on the topic: Six Reasons Every Pastor Should Require Masks and Social Distancing at Church.

[tuttle]

We added a second service so people could spread out more. The rows of seats were spread out more and people were encouraged to spread out within the rows, but it's all back to normal now. At this point, we are essentially business-as-usual. The main differences are that bulletins, offering, and communion are all self-service. A few people wear masks...very few. I'm not aware of anybody in our congregation who has gotten and/or passed the 'rona.

I saw a nice article on the topic: Six Reasons Every Pastor Should Require Masks and Social Distancing at Church.

That article is great.

[AFRS]

Pastor Coates released. Should NEVER have been jailed but God has answered prayers....


https://www.jccf.ca/pastor-james-coates ... s-charges/