December 9th, 2020
by Allen Coleman
by Allen Coleman
Since Thanksgiving, a lot has happened. A new round of stay-at-home orders, moving back to exclusively outdoor gatherings, potential COVID-19 exposures and our first positive test results at Anthem Church. Further, Americans have demonstrated that they intend on traveling and gathering for holidays irrespective of what they're told to do.
How very Edenic of us.
In all seriousness, it seems as though months of isolation, distance and loneliness have finally taken their toll and people seem to have had enough. Right, wrong or indifferent, people are ignoring regional protocols in favor of holiday nostalgia. The writing is on the wall as to how the Christmas holiday will go. It will be a more comprehensive "moving about the cabin" than even Thanksgiving was.
In the midst of a very complicated decision making season, it was clear the Holy Spirit was moving.
If the decision for Anthem to take the Sunday after Thanksgiving off seemed to come out of nowhere...it's because it did. I was literally sitting in my recliner, working on my sermon, when I heard clear as day what we were supposed to do. Had we not, those who had been exposed to the coronavirus may not have been aware of their exposure during our normally scheduled gatherings. In so doing, more potential exposures and Sunday closures could have ensued as a result. We took one Sunday off to stay-off the possibility of having to take off many more.
That being said, there is no such thing as "no risk"－nor is that goal. We gather every Sunday to worship our Lord fully aware that it presents "some risk". How much? Our nation's best cannot seem to agree on the answer to that question, so I will refrain from even attempting. However, the pastors at Anthem do not want "some risk" to mean "unmitigated risk". Meaning, we do not want to live as though COVID-19 is a hoax, neither do we want to cease living our lives. We include living in Christian community as part of living life. How to do this is extremely complicated and involves a variety of differing consciences, but that shouldn't dissuade our pastors from laboring to strike the right balance, even if that balance is elusive much of the time.
The result is that Anthem Church will be implementing a three-phase approach to holiday modifications following Christmas with respect to our in-person gatherings. These modifications are as follows:
How very Edenic of us.
In all seriousness, it seems as though months of isolation, distance and loneliness have finally taken their toll and people seem to have had enough. Right, wrong or indifferent, people are ignoring regional protocols in favor of holiday nostalgia. The writing is on the wall as to how the Christmas holiday will go. It will be a more comprehensive "moving about the cabin" than even Thanksgiving was.
In the midst of a very complicated decision making season, it was clear the Holy Spirit was moving.
If the decision for Anthem to take the Sunday after Thanksgiving off seemed to come out of nowhere...it's because it did. I was literally sitting in my recliner, working on my sermon, when I heard clear as day what we were supposed to do. Had we not, those who had been exposed to the coronavirus may not have been aware of their exposure during our normally scheduled gatherings. In so doing, more potential exposures and Sunday closures could have ensued as a result. We took one Sunday off to stay-off the possibility of having to take off many more.
That being said, there is no such thing as "no risk"－nor is that goal. We gather every Sunday to worship our Lord fully aware that it presents "some risk". How much? Our nation's best cannot seem to agree on the answer to that question, so I will refrain from even attempting. However, the pastors at Anthem do not want "some risk" to mean "unmitigated risk". Meaning, we do not want to live as though COVID-19 is a hoax, neither do we want to cease living our lives. We include living in Christian community as part of living life. How to do this is extremely complicated and involves a variety of differing consciences, but that shouldn't dissuade our pastors from laboring to strike the right balance, even if that balance is elusive much of the time.
The result is that Anthem Church will be implementing a three-phase approach to holiday modifications following Christmas with respect to our in-person gatherings. These modifications are as follows:
- Phase 1 - On Sunday, December 27th Anthem will not be meeting in any capacity. No livestream; no in-person gatherings. This is a first for me in the 12 years I've served as pastor. Never before has there not been a church gathering, in some capacity, on a Sunday. This decision does not come lightly. Instead, after a long season, the staff will collectively take a simultaneous weekend of rest from ministry, while at the same time mitigating the mixing of households following the Christmas holiday.
- Phase 2 - On Sunday, January 3rd Anthem will livestream only at 10:45a. We are taking an additional weekend of "no gatherings" as Christmas distinguishes itself from Thanksgiving by tending to extend family events over multiple days. This, in conjunction with the New Year holiday, is the reason for the extra layer of mitigation.
- Phase 3 - On Sunday, January 10th all in-person gatherings will resume (both outdoors) at 9:00a and 10:45a with livestreaming at 10:45a.
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