john holdingEcclesiantics Host, Mystery Worshipper Host
Here in Ontario, where the bishops have banned all celebrations of the eucharist whatever for the foreseeable future, we also expect a gradual process. Which will leave those of us who regularly get over 20 -- or 50 -- at a service in an odd place. When the buildings reopen, if services are limited to under 20 or 50, how do we limit attendance? SIgn-up sheets (or the web equivalent)?
Our place currently does a form of morning prayer on SUnday mornings over zoom, with 45-60 (a number of couples and families, so the actual links are fewer) and a further 10-15 watching the live stream on Facebook. In total, not a lot below our usual mid-summer lowest.
I'm going to propose that we continue this for the duration. But, when we are allowed small groups and eucharist, local gatherings in suitable houses with capacities in the 10-15 range on a different day -- perhaps Saturday evening. We are fortunate to have an honorary assistant who can chare the load if needed, as well as one licensed but not currently operating priest in the congregation. ALso one retiired priest from a different diocese who may have transferred to this one. So the load on our rector need not be too great.
However, we'll see when the time comes. I'm guessing we may be able to gather all together by CHristmas.
We're doing Morning Prayer on zoom, too - we've been getting about 60 connections to one service and 30 to the other, with an average of a little under 2 people per connection. Like you, those represent the low side of our normal numbers. We're going to have to give some serious thought to how we open back up when the Bishop allows us to, but we're not expecting that any time soon.
Everybody will want to rush back to church and have a massive festive Eucharist, with lots of food afterwards. That's unlikely to be sensible.
It's probably also true that airborne transmission is a significant risk, so just gathering together without physical contact (lots of handwashing, no chalice, no holy water etc.) may not be adequate.
Frankly, I don't expect we'll end up opening again until the schools are open.
Yes, that might well be so, though there may come a certain day when those of us who are so inclined (!) can pull out the stops, and have a proper Sung (or even High) Mass...with a live congregation actually present in the church!!
We live in hope...
With possible restrictions on number of people in the room (maybe 50), I could imagine a return of the old schedule: Low Masses at 6, 7, 8, and 9; High Mass at 10; Vespers at 4. Also Low Masses on the half-hour in the Lower Church: 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30. I experienced this as a child visiting my grandparents' church. What a cattle call, all morning, with inbound and outbound crowds traipsing through the corridors. Maybe this wouldn't work, actually.
john holdingEcclesiantics Host, Mystery Worshipper Host
What you describes reminds me of the situation a while ago at a neighbouring RC church. Masses twice on Saturday, then at 8,9,10 and 11. The parking lot held just enough cars to fill the church with people. Masses had to be no more than 40 minutes, to leave enough time to empty the parking lot from one service and fill it for the next. one priest in the parish.
What you describes reminds me of the situation a while ago at a neighbouring RC church. Masses twice on Saturday, then at 8,9,10 and 11. The parking lot held just enough cars to fill the church with people. Masses had to be no more than 40 minutes, to leave enough time to empty the parking lot from one service and fill it for the next. one priest in the parish.
As a punter it would appeal. As a priest? Not so much.
Yes, that might well be so, though there may come a certain day when those of us who are so inclined (!) can pull out the stops, and have a proper Sung (or even High) Mass...with a live congregation actually present in the church!!
We live in hope...
With possible restrictions on number of people in the room (maybe 50), I could imagine a return of the old schedule: Low Masses at 6, 7, 8, and 9; High Mass at 10; Vespers at 4. Also Low Masses on the half-hour in the Lower Church: 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30. I experienced this as a child visiting my grandparents' church. What a cattle call, all morning, with inbound and outbound crowds traipsing through the corridors. Maybe this wouldn't work, actually.
Yes, that might well be so, though there may come a certain day when those of us who are so inclined (!) can pull out the stops, and have a proper Sung (or even High) Mass...with a live congregation actually present in the church!!
We live in hope...
With possible restrictions on number of people in the room (maybe 50), I could imagine a return of the old schedule: Low Masses at 6, 7, 8, and 9; High Mass at 10; Vespers at 4. Also Low Masses on the half-hour in the Lower Church: 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30. I experienced this as a child visiting my grandparents' church. What a cattle call, all morning, with inbound and outbound crowds traipsing through the corridors. Maybe this wouldn't work, actually.
I feel sorry for the solo priest @john holding mentions above. Two Masses on Saturday, and four on Sunday - enough to make anyone down a whole bottle of pre-lunch sherry.
If a homily was preached at each Mass (as I understand it should be), I wonder if he wrote ONE 12-minute homily, and praught just two minutes' worth of it at each Mass?
So, paragraphs 1 and 2 at the first, and then 3 and 4, at the second of the two Saturday Masses, followed by two of the succeeding paragraphs at each of the four Sunday Masses.
IYSWIM.
I guess no-one but the priest, and perhaps the sacristan, or some other devout soul who attended EVERY Mass, would ever hear the whole thing, but who listens to homilies anyway?
I feel sorry for the solo priest @john holding mentions above. Two Masses on Saturday, and four on Sunday - enough to make anyone down a whole bottle of pre-lunch sherry.
Whisky, surely? Or whiskey given the continent in question. Sherry (¿sherrey?) is Leviathan-piss and has been known to carry protestant spy-bots in its vapours/vapors.
I feel sorry for the solo priest @john holding mentions above. Two Masses on Saturday, and four on Sunday - enough to make anyone down a whole bottle of pre-lunch sherry.
Whisky, surely? Or whiskey given the continent in question. Sherry (¿sherrey?) is Leviathan-piss and has been known to carry protestant spy-bots in its vapours/vapors.
Given the devout allegiance of most RC priests I know to Jameson's it would be Whiskey in the UK too. As for Mass on the hour every hour; I could probably manage it physically, but you sure as heck would not get a homily.
We have been using sign-up sheets to keep our numbers under ten. My congregation - about 30 - seem to have divided into 9 hiding; 9 in the morning; 9 in the evening, and three MIA.
While stll searching for premises, we have been able to develop the beginnings of a surreptitious house church, despite regulations still officially limiting visitors to one per household. To be allowed 10 would be wonderful but unfortunately more than could be fitted in to this family's living-space.
The 'rule of ten' is weird and wonderful. It is enough that small congregations can function with a little ingenuity, but it is hard work, especially when you have folk who just won't get with the programme and answer their flaming e-mail! The other major distancing regulation, the 'six foot rule' would give our church a seating capacity of about 25, at which point we could go back to something approaching normal.
Before lockdown, our large charismatic church was already discussing whether we would have to meet as small groups in homes at some point, and has allocated people responsible to maintain contact with members in various neighbourhoods in the city. If we are allowed to meet in small numbers when lockdown is lifted I imagine we will meet as home churches with a central zoom service. Many of us already belong to home groups now keeping in contact via Zoom and WhatsApp.
@Bishops Finger - not here, as someone in the government was actually bright enough to work out that it would be slightly pointless given that, in all likelihood, the household will have arrived in the same vehicle. We are waiting with bated breath, and sarcasm cannons loaded for the first attempts at the State Gummint to ease things up a bit.
We have a number of families/couples in our little flock, so presumably they would not be required to separate themselves thus - though we probably have enough room for them to do so, if TPTB so decree.
As you do, we also await further instructions/advice/guidance...
Before lockdown, our large charismatic church was already discussing whether we would have to meet as small groups in homes at some point, and has allocated people responsible to maintain contact with members in various neighbourhoods in the city. If we are allowed to meet in small numbers when lockdown is lifted I imagine we will meet as home churches with a central zoom service. Many of us already belong to home groups now keeping in contact via Zoom and WhatsApp.
The problem with that approach is the one @Bishops Finger mentions. The French equivalent of the EA has specifcally advised against meeting in small groups for now even as and when these are technically allowed, because it will be that much harder to maintain distancing [btw henceforth I'm going to adopt "distancing" as an abbreviation for "physical" and not "social" distancing because that's what it is] measures in most people's homes and thus represent a bigger risk of infection.
I envisage our first gathering being a midweek group that would usually meet in a home, meeting in our church premises, where such distancing measures will be much easier to observe.
Gatherings with no singing, which is apparently what's being allowed in Germany, don't sound much fun.
I was also reflecting that gatherings with no singing don't sound like much fun, but then I began to think about why we meet in the first place. Is it for fun? Fun?? Surely there are more ways to worship God than singing? Time for us to re-discover what worship is, maybe.
It seems to me that we basically have to take everything we ever learned in our church traditions (some more than others), unlearn it, and start working out how to use the same innate attributes (balance for the cyclist, spirituality for us) backwards.
Our church has I think done this to an extent in transitioning to online church. (For example, we realised we could have a different musician leading every song, rather than having to have one worship group for an entire service). But that's nothing compared to the rethinking we'll have to do going back to bricks and mortar. Having a housegroup in the church building and main services online is perhaps another example of this back-to-front bicycle-riding process.
(Also, in terms of a return to 'normality', note what happens at the end of the video...).
Oh, I don’t imagine we’ll be meeting as small groups any time soon.
Our Zoom services are actually going well, I’m enjoying getting to know new people in coffee time after the service and our midweek group has an online meeting so we are remaining a solid community.
Immediately prior to lockdown, one of our members suggested innocently all taking the same walk in the same woods at 10.30am on a Sunday morning...
I dream of avoiding simply trying to do as much of what we used to do whilst pushing the rules to the absolute limit, in favour of finding a whole new meaningful way of doing things that doesn't run up against the boundaries all the time, but I have very little idea of how to achieve that.
We (though not me as I had a broken toe!) had the walking trip before we were asked to distance not afterwards; there will be no suggestion we should flex the rules (2 of our group members are doctors and I teach health care workers so we’re very observant). Our midday group just likes going for walks together - one day we will do so again. I do envisage being able to meet as small groups at some point, even if it is the open air.
I’m perhaps in an odd situation at the moment of probably not being well enough (since having covid) for a traditional church meeting anyway so Zoom suits me better. I would be too tired to commit to a longer meeting.
I dream of avoiding simply trying to do as much of what we used to do whilst pushing the rules to the absolute limit, in favour of finding a whole new meaningful way of doing things that doesn't run up against the boundaries all the time, but I have very little idea of how to achieve that.
Same here. I'm afraid that Certain People (should they wish to return to Our Place, anyway) will want to immediately rush headlong into doing the same old, same old things - not necessarily in worship, but other activities.
As to no singing - that can't be too hard for the Catholics, who don't sing anyway but must be a burden for the Lutherans!
But, when we are allowed small groups and eucharist, local gatherings in suitable houses with capacities in the 10-15 range on a different day -- perhaps Saturday evening.
What sort of houses would be big enough to allow proper distancing of even half a dozen people? Wouldn't it make more sense to open church buildings?
When I lived in Dorset we used to attend open air services regularly, one annually up at an Iron Age Camp on the local highest point with a brass band. That could be possible post lockdown. And an outside Pentecost service.
And here we've tried:
Pentecost with the band ecumenical, on the Green,
Good Friday walk of witness, which wouldn't work with distancing, but possibly could be designed to work;
Easter dawn service starting outside, but others all outside across the country,
Carols on the Green: outside carol service with brass band - it wouldn't work with distancing as it's so packed
Remeembrance Day as is won't work, and maybe this will reduce that huge parade and ceremony to something more realistic
Maybe outside services with 2m distancing could work? Singing would be interesting
If global warming continues, and we get another hot, dry summer, there may well be some mileage in the idea of more open-air services!
Alas, our churchyard isn't really big enough for any large-ish gatherings, but we could do an outside Exposition & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on Corpus Christi...
ION, latest guff email from Moonbase Head Office refers in effusive terms to the huge increase in people 'attending' church online, and looks forward to the day when these crowds will hopefully find their way to their local fane. Hmm...
The blurb gives ideas as to how to cope with Unlock Sunday™, but the cynic in me reckons that small gatherings - in church - are much more likely as a starter. We could simply have a 'Low Mass' - a said service, with the appropriate readings, and a homily, and with 'distancing' maintained as far as possible. If we're not allowed to sing, that's a bit of a bummer, as we like our hymns etc., but it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Our Place has not had much in the way of house groups, until the last year or so - cancelled as soon as lockdown occurred - but it may be that Zoom is the way forward for this aspect of church life. I have already sounded out some likely suspects candidates, and they seem quite keen...
Apparently we are due a fresh load of bullshit advice this afternoon. If this works as well as the original shutdown announcement it will doubtless be long on platitudes and short on details, and it will be left to the apparatchiks in Richmond to work out the details. In other words, in spite of the big announcement, I won't actually know anything until the end of the week. I am not expecting anything that will be useful to us unless it also specifically benefits the folks who paid to get the present regime elected. In truth, the main thing that would of benefit to us would be some sensible easing of the restriction on the size of gatherings.
Hmm. It seems that, like Cynical Moi, you're not too enamoured of the stuff emanating from TPTB.
We in the C of E are so hedged about with restrictions - not all, by any means, advised by what passes for government here - that the only safe thing to do is to sit on our hands, and wait for the storm to pass.
BTW - one of those restrictions is being forbidden to maintain the church grounds.
However, the churchyard at Our Place is kept neat and tidy grass-wise by a local man (not a member of our congregation), for whom gardening is his livelihood. He works solo, or with his daughter, so there's no real problem with distancing, and he removes all the grass cuttings in his van. He has no need to enter the church building, either.
We therefore have a church that still looks cared for, and a local tradesman who is kept in work. I'm told the bluebells are looking spectacular!
My basic attitude to government is that it is a necessary evil that must be contained and controlled at all costs. This is probably exacerbated by the present Gummint here not being noted for either its pragmatism, or common sense. As a result, we get stuck with whatever the urbanites want. The "soy-latte" suburbs have not done well in this situation and have had major outbreaks. Out here we have had less than one (1) confirmed case per thousand (1000) of the population, and the whole thing feels like an enormous over reaction. I suspect that for as long as the DC suburbs are in the soup the rest of us are going to be locked down. See comments about pragmatism or the lack of it above.
The various ecclesiastical authorities have all behaved according to form. The RCs because of their numbers are banjaxed until further notice and have shut down, and the same goes for the larger congregations of whatever denomination. I think all three Episcopal Dioceses have shut down until things calm down a bit, and taken it online. Same goes for the Methodists, and ELCA. I am not sure what LCMS around here decided, but I imagine they are in much the same boat as us as their district overs multiple states.
The PTBs in my jurisdiction went with 'local option' but pointed out that
a. Social distancing must be maintained, and local restrictions observed
b. Intinction is banned until further notice, and
c. That vulnerable people should not attend church until the outbreak recedes somewhat.
The general reaction was no problem with a & b, but good luck on getting the stubborn old coots to go along with c.. Our episcopal area straddles five states, so there was a high likelihood they would jump in different directions in terms of precautions. On that basis it was decided that a one size fits all approach was not going to work for us. As I have mentioned, as I could not take it online, so we have been splitting the congregation up into small groups and having extra services when necessary. I only judged this expedient because local infection rates have been, and remain, low.
As I said, we await further instructions/guidelines/advice/rules, but I can envisage even our little congregation having to be split into two - those who can only attend at 1030am, and those who can, instead, attend at 6pm.
The 6pm service is at present simple Evening Prayer, but I don't doubt that FatherInCharge will be happy to put on a Low Mass if required.
ION, latest guff email from Moonbase Head Office refers in effusive terms to the huge increase in people 'attending' church online, and looks forward to the day when these crowds will hopefully find their way to their local fane. Hmm....
I think I am equally as cynical as you BF … in my own denomination there's a lot of talking it up but I rather suspect that those who have come on line will soon dwindle away again plus a few of our own who finally decide it's not for them.
What we seem to forget with these "new" people is that they are very used to doing new things and then dropping them for the next new thing that comes along. Where are cupcakes now? Gin will soon be tomorrow's drink like Vodka was … we shouldn't assume that faith will be any different at all. Once the heat if off, they'll be out of the kitchen.
People who have a consistent approach will be hard put to change it simply because it's faith.
As to no singing - that can't be too hard for the Catholics, who don't sing anyway but must be a burden for the Lutherans!
Makes me think of a few Lutheran friends who could propel the virus for miles, by singing. Or hymn-shouting, more like. Faithful and fervent! And loud as heck!
As I said, we await further instructions/guidelines/advice/rules, but I can envisage even our little congregation having to be split into two - those who can only attend at 1030am, and those who can, instead, attend at 6pm.
The 6pm service is at present simple Evening Prayer, but I don't doubt that FatherInCharge will be happy to put on a Low Mass if required.
Yes, Governor Full Term has pushed everything back a week, and of course, lots off waffle but no details. There was a hint churches and some other groups might no longer have to deal with the 10 limit provided they can maintain 6' distancing, but of course, no details. I assume he'll blight the airwaves again next week and put any sort of reopening off another seven days.
I think we have two churches that are likely to reopen when the 10 rule comes off. They are the most Protestant leaning of our parishes in these parts, so they were also among the first to close.
Well, most of the discussion in this thread has been about finding ways to worship. But it has been announced that the 224th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which was to meet in Baltimore in June, will instead meet virtually. My understanding is that the docket will be scaled back at least to some degree.
The other Presbyterian denominations in the US have, so far as I can tell, either cancelled or postponed their General Assemblies, as have the Presbyterian Church in Canada (postponed) and the Church of Scotland (cancelled). The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, which meets every 4 years and was scheduled to convene this week, and which was to vote on the plan to split the denomination, has been postponed to September 2021. The General Synod of the Reformed Church of America has been postponed to October 2020, while the annual Synod of the Christian Reformed Church in North America has been cancelled. The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, scheduled for June, has also been cancelled. The Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Convention of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and General Convention of The Episcopal Church aren’t scheduled to meet this year.
So, are there any other denominational governing bodies having virtual meetings through all of this rather than cancelling or postponing, or are we the only ones?
I think we have two churches that are likely to reopen when the 10 rule comes off. They are the most Protestant leaning of our parishes in these parts, so they were also among the first to close.
Well, most of the discussion in this thread has been about finding ways to worship. But it has been announced that the 224th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which was to meet in Baltimore in June, will instead meet virtually. My understanding is that the docket will be scaled back at least to some degree.
The other Presbyterian denominations in the US have, so far as I can tell, either cancelled or postponed their General Assemblies, as have the Presbyterian Church in Canada (postponed) and the Church of Scotland (cancelled). The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, which meets every 4 years and was scheduled to convene this week, and which was to vote on the plan to split the denomination, has been postponed to September 2021. The General Synod of the Reformed Church of America has been postponed to October 2020, while the annual Synod of the Christian Reformed Church in North America has been cancelled. The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, scheduled for June, has also been cancelled. The Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Convention of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and General Convention of The Episcopal Church aren’t scheduled to meet this year.
So, are there any other denominational governing bodies having virtual meetings through all of this rather than cancelling or postponing, or are we the only ones?
Hi Nick. The Church of Scotland cancelled the General Assembly - due to begin next weekend. Instead necessary business is being handled (has been handled, actually) by the Commission of the General Assembly, which is 10% of last year's commissioners, including me. The Commission handles the business of the GA during the year between assemblies. We were sent a list of "non-controversial" proposals with the instruction that these would be assumed to be agreed unless four or more people objected to any of them. They include installing a new Moderator (there will be an on-line distanced ceremony to mark that) creating three new, larger presbyteries, by amalgamating some existing ones, and some other legal stuff.
Since the GA will not meet, there will be no new Commission appointed for the next year, so those of us who are on it will continue to serve. And with no GA this year, I think there might be quite a lot of business which needs attention before next May.
Well, most of the discussion in this thread has been about finding ways to worship. But it has been announced that the 224th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which was to meet in Baltimore in June, will instead meet virtually. My understanding is that the docket will be scaled back at least to some degree.
The other Presbyterian denominations in the US have, so far as I can tell, either cancelled or postponed their General Assemblies, as have the Presbyterian Church in Canada (postponed) and the Church of Scotland (cancelled). The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, which meets every 4 years and was scheduled to convene this week, and which was to vote on the plan to split the denomination, has been postponed to September 2021. The General Synod of the Reformed Church of America has been postponed to October 2020, while the annual Synod of the Christian Reformed Church in North America has been cancelled. The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, scheduled for June, has also been cancelled. The Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Convention of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and General Convention of The Episcopal Church aren’t scheduled to meet this year.
So, are there any other denominational governing bodies having virtual meetings through all of this rather than cancelling or postponing, or are we the only ones?
Hi Nick. The Church of Scotland cancelled the General Assembly - due to begin next weekend. Instead necessary business is being handled (has been handled, actually) by the Commission of the General Assembly, which is 10% of last year's commissioners, including me. The Commission handles the business of the GA during the year between assemblies. We were sent a list of "non-controversial" proposals with the instruction that these would be assumed to be agreed unless four or more people objected to any of them. They include installing a new Moderator (there will be an on-line distanced ceremony to mark that) creating three new, larger presbyteries, by amalgamating some existing ones, and some other legal stuff.
Since the GA will not meet, there will be no new Commission appointed for the next year, so those of us who are on it will continue to serve. And with no GA this year, I think there might be quite a lot of business which needs attention before next May.
Thanks for that info, Cathscats. I fear you have an even busier year ahead of you.
We don't have a Commission of the General Assembly to handle business during the year. And a few decades ago we moved to biennial GAs, so if we just cancelled, we'd be looking at the next GA in 2022. Add to that that we, like other larger denominations in the US, don't have a set meeting place that we can count on being available. Our GAs move around the country and meet in convention centers, so planning has to be done and reservations made years in advance. Fortunately, it sounds like we're not losing much money by having to cancel the in-person GA this year, since the force majeure clause of the contracts allowed for cancellation without penalty.
I've just heard that the General Synod of the C of E is looking at ways of operating 'virtually'.
Given the usual chaos (and uselessness - YMMV) of General Synod, this is like an attempt at herding cats, or knitting smoke...
Why on earth don't they take a leaf out of the books of other churches, and simply postpone until better days (if such ever arrive...and, if they don't, General Synod won't be of any purpose, anyway)?
As I understand it the NZ Anglican General Synod - small by comparison with most - is currently working on plans to "virtualize" its forthcoming meeting.
I think we have two churches that are likely to reopen when the 10 rule comes off. They are the most Protestant leaning of our parishes in these parts, so they were also among the first to close.
How does that follow?
I am not sure how it follows; it just does!
They do tend to be a bit more 'establishment' than us, so they tend to take advice from our usually clueless Department of Health more seriously than we do. One of my colleagues, who likes taking a jab suggested that once the Country Club, the Golf Club, and the Masonic Lodge closed, they'd better knock off church as well.
Comments
Our place currently does a form of morning prayer on SUnday mornings over zoom, with 45-60 (a number of couples and families, so the actual links are fewer) and a further 10-15 watching the live stream on Facebook. In total, not a lot below our usual mid-summer lowest.
I'm going to propose that we continue this for the duration. But, when we are allowed small groups and eucharist, local gatherings in suitable houses with capacities in the 10-15 range on a different day -- perhaps Saturday evening. We are fortunate to have an honorary assistant who can chare the load if needed, as well as one licensed but not currently operating priest in the congregation. ALso one retiired priest from a different diocese who may have transferred to this one. So the load on our rector need not be too great.
However, we'll see when the time comes. I'm guessing we may be able to gather all together by CHristmas.
Everybody will want to rush back to church and have a massive festive Eucharist, with lots of food afterwards. That's unlikely to be sensible.
It's probably also true that airborne transmission is a significant risk, so just gathering together without physical contact (lots of handwashing, no chalice, no holy water etc.) may not be adequate.
Frankly, I don't expect we'll end up opening again until the schools are open.
With possible restrictions on number of people in the room (maybe 50), I could imagine a return of the old schedule: Low Masses at 6, 7, 8, and 9; High Mass at 10; Vespers at 4.
As a punter it would appeal. As a priest? Not so much.
I know some RCs have a rather functional approach to their Sunday obligation, but a 40 minute assembly-line Mass holds no appeal for me at all.
That sounds like a recipe for mass infection
That was bad and you should feel bad.
I feel sorry for the solo priest @john holding mentions above. Two Masses on Saturday, and four on Sunday - enough to make anyone down a whole bottle of pre-lunch sherry.
If a homily was preached at each Mass (as I understand it should be), I wonder if he wrote ONE 12-minute homily, and praught just two minutes' worth of it at each Mass?
So, paragraphs 1 and 2 at the first, and then 3 and 4, at the second of the two Saturday Masses, followed by two of the succeeding paragraphs at each of the four Sunday Masses.
IYSWIM.
I guess no-one but the priest, and perhaps the sacristan, or some other devout soul who attended EVERY Mass, would ever hear the whole thing, but who listens to homilies anyway?
Whisky, surely? Or whiskey given the continent in question. Sherry (¿sherrey?) is Leviathan-piss and has been known to carry protestant spy-bots in its vapours/vapors.
Given the devout allegiance of most RC priests I know to Jameson's it would be Whiskey in the UK too.
We have been using sign-up sheets to keep our numbers under ten. My congregation - about 30 - seem to have divided into 9 hiding; 9 in the morning; 9 in the evening, and three MIA.
As you do, we also await further instructions/advice/guidance...
The problem with that approach is the one @Bishops Finger mentions. The French equivalent of the EA has specifcally advised against meeting in small groups for now even as and when these are technically allowed, because it will be that much harder to maintain distancing [btw henceforth I'm going to adopt "distancing" as an abbreviation for "physical" and not "social" distancing because that's what it is] measures in most people's homes and thus represent a bigger risk of infection.
I envisage our first gathering being a midweek group that would usually meet in a home, meeting in our church premises, where such distancing measures will be much easier to observe.
Gatherings with no singing, which is apparently what's being allowed in Germany, don't sound much fun.
In all this I'm reminded of the video of the guy who learned to ride a bicycle with the handlebars reversed (this is absolutely worth watching if you don't know it).
It seems to me that we basically have to take everything we ever learned in our church traditions (some more than others), unlearn it, and start working out how to use the same innate attributes (balance for the cyclist, spirituality for us) backwards.
Our church has I think done this to an extent in transitioning to online church. (For example, we realised we could have a different musician leading every song, rather than having to have one worship group for an entire service). But that's nothing compared to the rethinking we'll have to do going back to bricks and mortar. Having a housegroup in the church building and main services online is perhaps another example of this back-to-front bicycle-riding process.
(Also, in terms of a return to 'normality', note what happens at the end of the video...).
Our Zoom services are actually going well, I’m enjoying getting to know new people in coffee time after the service and our midweek group has an online meeting so we are remaining a solid community.
Oh, and I couldn't help but think of this clip.
I dream of avoiding simply trying to do as much of what we used to do whilst pushing the rules to the absolute limit, in favour of finding a whole new meaningful way of doing things that doesn't run up against the boundaries all the time, but I have very little idea of how to achieve that.
I’m perhaps in an odd situation at the moment of probably not being well enough (since having covid) for a traditional church meeting anyway so Zoom suits me better. I would be too tired to commit to a longer meeting.
Same here. I'm afraid that Certain People (should they wish to return to Our Place, anyway) will want to immediately rush headlong into doing the same old, same old things - not necessarily in worship, but other activities.
As to no singing - that can't be too hard for the Catholics, who don't sing anyway
And here we've tried:
Maybe outside services with 2m distancing could work? Singing would be interesting
Alas, our churchyard isn't really big enough for any large-ish gatherings, but we could do an outside Exposition & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on Corpus Christi...
ION, latest guff email from Moonbase Head Office refers in effusive terms to the huge increase in people 'attending' church online, and looks forward to the day when these crowds will hopefully find their way to their local fane. Hmm...
The blurb gives ideas as to how to cope with Unlock Sunday™, but the cynic in me reckons that small gatherings - in church - are much more likely as a starter. We could simply have a 'Low Mass' - a said service, with the appropriate readings, and a homily, and with 'distancing' maintained as far as possible. If we're not allowed to sing, that's a bit of a bummer, as we like our hymns etc., but it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Our Place has not had much in the way of house groups, until the last year or so - cancelled as soon as lockdown occurred - but it may be that Zoom is the way forward for this aspect of church life. I have already sounded out some likely suspects candidates, and they seem quite keen...
We in the C of E are so hedged about with restrictions - not all, by any means, advised by what passes for government here - that the only safe thing to do is to sit on our hands, and wait for the storm to pass.
If it ever does.
However, the churchyard at Our Place is kept neat and tidy grass-wise by a local man (not a member of our congregation), for whom gardening is his livelihood. He works solo, or with his daughter, so there's no real problem with distancing, and he removes all the grass cuttings in his van. He has no need to enter the church building, either.
We therefore have a church that still looks cared for, and a local tradesman who is kept in work. I'm told the bluebells are looking spectacular!
The various ecclesiastical authorities have all behaved according to form. The RCs because of their numbers are banjaxed until further notice and have shut down, and the same goes for the larger congregations of whatever denomination. I think all three Episcopal Dioceses have shut down until things calm down a bit, and taken it online. Same goes for the Methodists, and ELCA. I am not sure what LCMS around here decided, but I imagine they are in much the same boat as us as their district overs multiple states.
The PTBs in my jurisdiction went with 'local option' but pointed out that
a. Social distancing must be maintained, and local restrictions observed
b. Intinction is banned until further notice, and
c. That vulnerable people should not attend church until the outbreak recedes somewhat.
The general reaction was no problem with a & b, but good luck on getting the stubborn old coots to go along with c.. Our episcopal area straddles five states, so there was a high likelihood they would jump in different directions in terms of precautions. On that basis it was decided that a one size fits all approach was not going to work for us. As I have mentioned, as I could not take it online, so we have been splitting the congregation up into small groups and having extra services when necessary. I only judged this expedient because local infection rates have been, and remain, low.
The 6pm service is at present simple Evening Prayer, but I don't doubt that FatherInCharge will be happy to put on a Low Mass if required.
What we seem to forget with these "new" people is that they are very used to doing new things and then dropping them for the next new thing that comes along. Where are cupcakes now? Gin will soon be tomorrow's drink like Vodka was … we shouldn't assume that faith will be any different at all. Once the heat if off, they'll be out of the kitchen.
People who have a consistent approach will be hard put to change it simply because it's faith.
I remember fondly my church in, er, near-equatorial Oz, which was simply open air (albeit with a roof, useful in The Wet).
Yes, Governor Full Term has pushed everything back a week, and of course, lots off waffle but no details. There was a hint churches and some other groups might no longer have to deal with the 10 limit provided they can maintain 6' distancing, but of course, no details. I assume he'll blight the airwaves again next week and put any sort of reopening off another seven days.
I think we have two churches that are likely to reopen when the 10 rule comes off. They are the most Protestant leaning of our parishes in these parts, so they were also among the first to close.
The other Presbyterian denominations in the US have, so far as I can tell, either cancelled or postponed their General Assemblies, as have the Presbyterian Church in Canada (postponed) and the Church of Scotland (cancelled). The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, which meets every 4 years and was scheduled to convene this week, and which was to vote on the plan to split the denomination, has been postponed to September 2021. The General Synod of the Reformed Church of America has been postponed to October 2020, while the annual Synod of the Christian Reformed Church in North America has been cancelled. The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, scheduled for June, has also been cancelled. The Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Convention of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and General Convention of The Episcopal Church aren’t scheduled to meet this year.
So, are there any other denominational governing bodies having virtual meetings through all of this rather than cancelling or postponing, or are we the only ones?
How does that follow?
Most churches need be open for worship only on Sundays for the foreseeable future, so a mid-week funeral might be OK.
Hi Nick. The Church of Scotland cancelled the General Assembly - due to begin next weekend. Instead necessary business is being handled (has been handled, actually) by the Commission of the General Assembly, which is 10% of last year's commissioners, including me. The Commission handles the business of the GA during the year between assemblies. We were sent a list of "non-controversial" proposals with the instruction that these would be assumed to be agreed unless four or more people objected to any of them. They include installing a new Moderator (there will be an on-line distanced ceremony to mark that) creating three new, larger presbyteries, by amalgamating some existing ones, and some other legal stuff.
Since the GA will not meet, there will be no new Commission appointed for the next year, so those of us who are on it will continue to serve. And with no GA this year, I think there might be quite a lot of business which needs attention before next May.
We don't have a Commission of the General Assembly to handle business during the year. And a few decades ago we moved to biennial GAs, so if we just cancelled, we'd be looking at the next GA in 2022. Add to that that we, like other larger denominations in the US, don't have a set meeting place that we can count on being available. Our GAs move around the country and meet in convention centers, so planning has to be done and reservations made years in advance. Fortunately, it sounds like we're not losing much money by having to cancel the in-person GA this year, since the force majeure clause of the contracts allowed for cancellation without penalty.
Given the usual chaos (and uselessness - YMMV) of General Synod, this is like an attempt at herding cats, or knitting smoke...
Why on earth don't they take a leaf out of the books of other churches, and simply postpone until better days (if such ever arrive...and, if they don't, General Synod won't be of any purpose, anyway)?
Our diocesan synod may follow suit.
I am not sure how it follows; it just does!
They do tend to be a bit more 'establishment' than us, so they tend to take advice from our usually clueless Department of Health more seriously than we do. One of my colleagues, who likes taking a jab suggested that once the Country Club, the Golf Club, and the Masonic Lodge closed, they'd better knock off church as well.