Dear Restoration,
We are entering into another season of Church as Diaspora, although this run of it will be very different than last time. Due to the recent and alarming health concerns, Restoration is now shifting to a Livestream First model, whereby we will now only offer one in-person service limited to fifty people and encourage the majority of our congregation to join via Liturgical Livestream.
I realize this news impacts many of us in different ways. We are all grieved at the state of our country and ways in which our own lives are being uprooted. Some of you might be upset that Restoration is not being restrictive enough, and others might be upset that we’re changing at all. Please know that we don’t make this decision lightly or without council.
Thankfully, it appears that this is our final lap with the pandemic —albeit a hard one. And as with the previous stages of this year, God will use this time to make us more gracious, wise, devoted, resilient, and missional.
Why not stop services entirely?
We’ve learned a lot, both as a society and as a congregation. We’ve learned that the previous season of Home Liturgy contained blessings and challenges. Many of you rose to the call, as the priesthood of all believers, to structure your homes as a “Little Church.” God met you and your families in profound ways. But that’s not to say that it wasn’t hard. I saw terrible psychological, emotional, and marital challenges arise, not to mention the deep sadness that accompanied our sacramental fast. Our staff has been working hard to ensure that if the need arose again to shift to a more restricted model, it would be different.
I’m proud that the initial guidance of the Regathering Team and the adaptations made by our Staff has meant that —as far as we know— the virus has not spread at Restoration’s Sunday worship. At both Outdoor Worship and Parkway Worship, we’ve taken precautions that go above and beyond the Governor’s guidelines in order to further protect the safety of our people and our public witness.
In light of the above, it’s become my conviction that Restoration ought to have a portion of members who gather in person (responsibly and safely) on Sunday morning for congregational representation, sacramental duty and joy, prophetic procession, public evangelism, and mutual edification. And at the moment, that gathering is 50 people in a room that seats 340.
Are we still the church?
Like I said, the Staff has been brilliantly preparing for this moment. We have secured a space for worship from which we can administer a robust liturgical Livestream so that members can spiritually participate remotely. Our children have Worship Journals that invite them to explore the rich themes of our liturgical worship regardless of location in addition to other formational opportunities. Tithes and Offering is predominantly online. Households have booklets of Common Prayer in Common Places to encourage daily habits of Bible reading and prayer. Over half our Life Groups are on Zoom. We’re offering Bible studies on Zoom, as well. Obviously, we would much, much rather have all of these ministries face to face; but providing an additional, virtual option does not mean the church is sleeping.
Please allow me to put a finer point on this. I hope what you hear me kindly and gently saying that this is not a time for you to take a break from Jesus and his Bride. We continue to creatively thrive as a revival of Word and Sacrament infused by the Holy Spirit!
What liturgical changes are you making?
We will be adding more music to the service. This is for several reasons. First, with the prioritization of the Livestream, we want those at home to enjoy as much beautiful Advent and Christmas songs possible. Second, with reduced time in the theater, fewer people present, ability to space out more, and scientific evidence that singing with masks is no different than speaking the Staff feels that this is a safe change.
We hope you fill your living rooms with the beautiful songs!
When will we go back to Two Services?
We hope to return to two services on January 10, Epiphany Sunday. This is dependent, of course, on the state of public health at that time and the comfort levels of our volunteers.
I love you all so much and am so sad that we cannot all be together in fullness. However, I am confident that the Lord will use this season, as he has the others, to shape and grow our community. And the day is coming when we shall stand together face to face.
Yours in Christ,
Father Rick
