Happy Anniversary! Did you forget our special day? That’s ok, I’m not mad at you, I kind of blocked it out, too. Honestly, after the first twelve months, I wished we could stop talking about it and just accept that COVID was part of our existence. If I never hear the phrase “new normal” again, it will be too soon.
This week marks three years since we shut everything down and distanced ourselves so we could protect ourselves and each other from a seriously inconvenient and often deadly virus. But we’ve had plenty of time to bemoan all the things we didn’t like about our time in quarantine. We know what worked and what didn’t. COVID is still with us, but we’ve built up some immunity and most of us can fight it off when we need to.
I want to take this special anniversary day to celebrate some of the positive things that have changed in the time since COVID, both here at church and for me personally.
Here at Lord of Life, the week of lockdown kickstarted a new phase of digital ministry for us. As soon as we knew we couldn’t worship in person, we figured out how to stream worship, first using the cameras on our phones, then pulling together videos from volunteers, and finally setting up a permanent video system in the church. Since then, a third of our attendance is online and a third of our new members find us and worship with us virtually before they come and meet us in person.
Getting us out of the building for a few months also gave us a chance to finish the sanctuary renovation without disruption to in-person worship. I’m sure we would have figured things out if COVID hadn’t been a factor, but the extra breathing room allowed us to take our time and fine-tune some details that might have been rushed if we were trying to get back in the room faster.
We learned that we excel at outreach. No matter how little we saw each other in person, our outreach ministries never skipped a beat. From collecting masks and supplies for first responders and essential workers, and a special collection for Native American reservations, to continuing our regular collections for Feed the Need, Giving Tree, Reach Out Lakota, Thanksgiving meal boxes for SELF, and several other ministries.
I learned some things about myself, too. If you would have asked me three years ago, getting to work from home was the best thing ever. My introverted self is perfectly happy to plug away at a computer without any outside stimulus for hours at a time. But eventually I, too, missed getting to see everyone and I have a new appreciation for getting to spend time together when we can chat outside of worship.
And finally - after three years - I think I’m ready to move away from the piano bench to pass the peace again. I’ve been content with showing a peace sign from my swiveling chair, but I’m ready for handshakes and hugs. I never thought I’d say that! If you’re not there yet, that’s ok. Some people weren’t comfortable with it before. I’ll try to pick up on your social cues if you’d rather share a head nod or a fist bump.
Looking forward to passing the peace,
John Johns