Good morning…
Sunday may be the day that feels most different during this world wide pandemic. For many church-goers across the globe who are used to gathering face to face, close together, week by week, online worship has replaced onsite worship for this unusual period of time. Churches are now negotiating, “What will it look like to come back together safely on Sundays?”
Think about your own Sunday routine. How have things changed since March? What faith-building essentials do you miss most? What fresh new habits are you developing with God? To what beloved routines will you definitely return? How might your commitment to Sabbath morph in new ways? What might active connection to a community of believers look like for you as we move forward?
The word “hybrid” is being used a lot nowadays, as we begin to consider returning back to old familiar settings, like church, school, and the workplace. First recorded in 1595, “hybrid” is from the Latin word hybrida or hibrida, literally meaning a crossbred animal. In the human realm, a “hybrid” is anything derived from heterogeneous sources, composed of elements of different or incongruous kinds. A cross-between. A compound. A combination. Expanding into our current situation, what “hybrid” of old commitments and new habits will emerge on Sunday mornings as we begin to re-open our church doors?
As we prayerfully ponder an old-and-new hybrid to celebrate our sense of Sabbath, Jesus’ powerful promise leads us forward: “Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you” (Matthew 18:20, CEV). As we come back together with our spiritual family, certainly the living Christ will be active in our midst.
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good (Romans 8:26-28, MSG).
A super creative subscriber sent me a fun Sunday morning parody, combining a dancing priest and a melody from the masterful musical Hamilton. May the final line of the YouTube video below come true for us: “When we finally open the door, we’ll get back together even better than before.”
…Sue…
P.S. I welcome you to join us online for our new Sunday morning schedule at Northside Church.
8:00AM · Traditional Worship
9:00AM · Contemporary Worship
10:10AM – Sunday school for all ages
11:15AM · Traditional Worship
