Dear Restoration,
In March 2020, the world was turned upside down by the Covid Pandemic. Restoration was only two and a half years old when it struck, and because of our nimble, scrappy nature, we were able to quickly deploy creative solutions for connecting our church, which included an excellent Livestream of Sunday Worship. I’m quite proud of our team and what they’ve been able to accomplish these past few years, but it’s now time to phase out the Livestream and to reinforce better ways of fostering sacramental fellowship.
The New Chapter
Our church context has changed a lot these past few years. No longer nomadic, we now worship in a sanctuary with a new, state of the art air filtration system, and we continue to require masks in the balcony. While this doesn’t eradicate all spread, it certainly helps.
We will be phasing out the Livestream by September 25 and serving our homebound congregants in a more embodied way. This will be more aligned with our sacramental life together for several reasons:
As Anglicans, we prioritize in-person ministry where we worship in Word and Sacrament. The physical, local nature of gathering for worship is not just a stylistic preference, but an essential part of Christian practice throughout history and is vital to how we understand the incarnate ministry of Jesus.
The Livestream was a temporary solution to a serious public health crisis, and again, we thank God for it. But for us, it was never intended to be normalized, as it can never offer the fullness of sacramental worship. We are concerned about the ways in which the Livestream fosters an illusion of community, thereby deepening the feeling of dispersion and isolation.
There are practical reasons, too. As a small church, our volunteer resources are very limited. We need to redirect our Livestream volunteers to other opportunities of need, such as our Sound, Safety, or Sunday Teams.
Now, in the Spirit of the Lord’s Day, may we recommit to gathering every week for public worship alongside our brothers and sisters (Heb 10:25).
What if I can’t make it to Worship?
We understand that it isn’t always possible to make it to church every Sunday due to illness or travel. So, here are some recommendations for what you can do if you can’t make it to church:
Illness
If you’re ill, please stay home. We want you to rest up and love one another by keeping each other healthy and safe. If you have kids, please review our Child Wellness Policy.
In place of the Livestream, we provide a simplified version of Morning Prayer liturgy in our “Common Prayer in Common Places” booklet that you can pray through individually or as a household. Either grab one at the Welcome Table, or we can mail one to you for free. For those with young children, consider the BCP’s “Family Prayer in the Morning” (BCP, p67).
For those who are homebound, we continue to offer Home Eucharist. For more than a millennia, the Church has brought “reserved sacrament” from Sunday Worship to those confined at home (BCP, p227). We love that this is more personal, more relational, and more eucharistic. If you would like a member of our Home Eucharistic Team to visit you on a Sunday afternoon, please email me (Pastor Rick).
Travel
If you are out of town, we encourage you to visit a local church. You can find a local ACNA church here, but of course, feel free to visit any gospel-centered Christian church. While this isn’t always possible, we encourage you to arrange your travel plans so that you can worship with a local body on Sunday.
We have been through much these past few years, and God has been abundantly faithful. I want to thank Aaron, our Parish Admin, and the rest of the Livestream Team (Josiah Anderson, Parous Khachikian, Drew Moseman, and James Tucker) for designing, simplifying, and implementing the best church Livestream out there. It’s so good!
As we continue to walk together as the gathered Body of Christ, may our hearts be lifted by the praises of God’s people, encouraged by the Holy Spirit through personal conversations, reinforced by the laying on of hands and anointing, and nourished by his most precious Body and Blood.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Rick
