On Sunday, governor Inslee put forward new restrictions for Washington State, which includes guidance for churches. For those who have not seen it yet, here it is:
Religious Services are limited to 25 percent of indoor occupancy limits, or no more than 200 people, whichever is fewer. Congregation members/attendees must wear facial coverings at all times and congregation singing is prohibited. No choir, band, or ensemble shall perform during the service. Vocal or instrumental soloists are permitted to perform, and vocal soloists may have a single accompanist.
Along with this guidance, all indoor interactions between people from different households are prohibited (unless you quarantine and get a test). Before I lay out how we will proceed, let me lay out the options. I want to do this because it is easy to be unhappy with how things are; this is how all of us feel. I could lay out the negatives of any option we choose as well as anyone. The challenge of being in leadership is that we don’t get to sit in the neutral ground of agreeing (or disagreeing) with everyone, we have to choose a path. Right now, none of those paths seem very good.
As an eldership, we have already addressed the conflicting values that have to be weighed as we work through living as Christians in the world. We have also written on the issue of masks and why we have chosen to work with the health department (rather than against them) in this time. As we wrote in the masking article back in July:
The elders of Communion Church have chosen to work with the local health officials who we believe God has given common grace to and guided them to the position to help oversee the public in times like these. They are in agreement with state and national health professional in recommending the wearing of a mask. While I don’t particularly enjoy it, nor would I come to the conclusion of mask-wearing without input from the outside, I am thankful that God is caring for His creation through the people that He has specially equipped to care about pandemics, to develop plans in case of a novel virus, and all of the work that they are doing to try to get the community to work together toward a return to normal.
Our elders believe that working with the health department to help limit the spread of this virus is a responsibility of each of us as citizens, but also of the church as a part of this community. Hopefully, you understand how difficult this time and these decisions are, because all of us would rather be doing things differently. I pray that we use this time to learn dependence on God and humility rather than using all of our energy to bicker and complain. We are the people of God and our hope and confidence is in Him, no matter what life brings.
Now we face a different decision, but one with similar options. As we laid out in the mask blog, there are 4 options that we have when we receive direction from government agencies:
- Declare restrictions unnecessary.
- Let everyone make up their own mind based on conscience.
- The elders make up rules based on our understanding of the virus.
- Follow the restrictions from the health department.
Just as before, we land in a place where our understanding of God’s sovereignty and an acceptance of our own limits in regard to understanding a community-wide response to a pandemic leads us to follow the guidance of the health department. Let me be clear: this is not a partisan issue where we take a side, this is not us acting in fear and this is not your elders choosing the earthly authority over the authority of God. This is: men who have been called by God to lead His church through a difficult time, making the decision to set aside our rights and preferences for the sake of serving our community.
We believe that this is an issue of Christian witness. We believe that there is a time for the church to stand up and declare that the government is over-extending its authority; we are not there yet. At this time, when people are losing their jobs, people are dying, and many are worried about getting sick, is not when we should exercise civil disobedience. What it reveals to the world around us is that the church is more concerned with religious liberty than we are about the weak and vulnerable. It declares (fairly or not) that we are not willing to sacrifice very much for the sake of our neighbors. I know that this is the take because these are the conversations that I have been having with my non-Christian friends over the last two weeks. How we respond says a lot about what we think about God, but also what we think about all of those in the community who don’t attend our church.
At this point, the church is not being asked to refrain from meeting, nor are we being kept from preaching the gospel. The big change that we now have to weigh is the issue of congregational singing. Singing is an important part of what we do to join together in unity. As we sing with one voice, we are actively cooperating in our unity. This helps to bind us together and reminds us that we are all worshippers of He who deserves all praise and glory. In many ways, this is more difficult than the mask mandate, because that merely blocked our faces; this is asking us to refrain from a part of our liturgy. We are being asked to pause part of what makes the Sunday gathering so powerful. We do not take lightly what we are being asked to give up.
At the same time, we recognize that this is a unique time. These are not decisions we have ever faced before or are likely to have to navigate again in our lifetimes. In many ways, seeing this as a temporary struggle allows us to approach it as a simple trial of this life that we must navigate. As Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 1:6–7:
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
This makes our current situation a means for us to grow in our anticipation of Christ’s return. To not be able to meet in the way that is ideal reminds us of the gift of the church, but also encourages us to realize that even the greatest glimpses of God’s glory fall short of what we have waiting for us. The perfect church, family, or country are not the goal. The purpose of this life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. As we looked at in the sermon Sunday, sometimes this is found through God-ordained struggle.
No matter how we proceed, the prayer of the elders is that we acknowledge the struggle and that we commit to engage it together as a family. We are all having a hard time with this. No one is enjoying what this year has brought. God has given us one another to work together toward a greater acknowledgment of His glory. May we embrace this as a church family.
With this, our plan for the next month is to have a 9a in-person service without music (sign up HERE). We will then stream an 11a service online with songs (without people in attendance). All additional groups (Bible Studies, Sunday School, Youth group, Middles) will not be meeting together. We will, however, have a number of creative ways of engaging people over the Advent season (keep your eyes on the e-news and website for these).
In a way, Advent is a perfect time for this. This is the season of anticipation, to remember the years of silence waiting for the Messiah to come. This is a reflection of the time we live in, waiting for Jesus to come again. We are meant to wait with expectation. Right now, this includes difficulties that we do not like. Our hope is not in where we are now, but in where we are going. Let’s use ADVENT this year to recognize that this world falls short, as we wait expectantly for our future glory!