Pastor Jeff Schooley of First Presbyterian Church Marysville said many churches have been able to weather the storm wrought by COVID-19, thanks to God’s faithfulness.
“I suspect the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 won’t be noticeable once this plague has passed. Churches will go back to many of their old patterns and routines – joyfully so!” Schooley wrote.
“But congregations will still be changed by this season.
Churches will know that they can be flexible when they need to. Churches will better understand just how faithful God is – in good times and bad,” he added.
He said many churches, including his, have been pushed to embrace technology because of public health guidelines during the pandemic.
“Previous concerns about congregants’ ability to engage technology have been washed away,” he wrote.
“If I had recommended a year that we should hold our Sunday “Coffee Hour” over Zoom so no one had to leave their home, I would’ve been looked at like I had a third eye on the tip of my nose.
Today, anywhere between a half-dozen to dozen people gather every Sunday to sip coffee and catch up with one another. Social media engagement with the church is up.
Worship has truly happened, even though it’s through a recorded worship video posted to YouTube.
Things we just would’ve never considered possible are now routine,” Schooley wrote.
Despite the opportunities brought by technology, the pastor said this season has reinforced how important safe, in-person community is – especially when in Christian fellowship.
“People still need to be with one another,” Schooley wrote.
“The technology has been great as a stop-gap measure for personal and public safety, but the centrality of its use will go away the minute the COVID-19 global pandemic is under control. I realize this may contradict what I wrote above, but I think it is less a contradiction and more a paradox (in) the results from these puzzling times.”
Whether the online meetings continue or not, Schooley said churchgoers will approach community with a different perspective in the years to come.
“I think individual Christians will have a greater appreciation for Christian fellowship after this,” he wrote.
Most of the time, our fellowship happens in the midst of other events – Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, local mission service, book clubs, even committee meetings – but after this (especially immediately after this) I suspect people will just enjoy being with one another for the sake of being with one another.
We will rediscover the joy of just simply being present with one another. So much so, in fact, that I would recommend that anyone who has been thinking about going to church (or returning to it) should make some visits to churches right after they re-open to full engagement.
They will absolutely get swept up in the warmth and love that folks will be spreading around. And, not for nothing, won’t it be great to live in a time when ‘warmth and love’ is all we’re spreading?” Schooley wrote.