Smaller Congregation, Stronger Community
What’s happening in our church in San Francisco one year later
Today is February 21, 2021 and I’m watching my church service online for the 51st week in a row. What is true is that our church was already operating online when the pandemic hit in early March 2020. Fortunately, we are a city where working from home is very manageable and where delivery services for meals, groceries, laundry, etc. are already a part of daily life here.
What has surprised me about San Francisco, a city who elevates free speech, individual choice, and tolerance of various ideas, went extremely conservative with COVID-19. Our city still tolerates car window smashing and human feces on sidewalks, but we shelter unified in mask wearing and social distancing. In this city that I am still learning to love, working from home continues to get pushed back further into this year and then for some companies, indefinitely. Our public schools remain closed and there is a daily fight in trying to open them, rename them, cancel board members and defend our rights.
From my vantage point, looking at the rest of our country, everywhere else seem loose while we are clearly really strict. And then there are days our family drools at the pictures you post of indoor dining, school pick ups, and team sports. I think we all can agree that points of view and perspectives have polar opposites in this pandemic. I’m not writing to compare them for they can’t be. This isn’t the space for who’s right, who’s winning, who’s better, who’s safer. It’s the place to become stronger together. Okay. It’s also the space for me to tell my story.
California recently became the last state to remove the ban on in-person worship gatherings. Of course we’re delighted to be granted the permission to be together at church, but you need to know what it really looks like here. Our church will meet in person the four Sundays in March with capacity for 50 people at each gathering. Singing is still banned. We will meet for prayer and teaching and being together will be the gift. But not everyone will come. You might expect that this opportunity would send our people running to register to come to church, but that’s not the case. Why? I think for some of us, online church has found a place in our weekly rhythms. Others are waiting for COVID numbers to come down, vaccines to be given, and our city to be more open. I think there are some who know the services won’t feel like a regular church gathering. Three services are limited to 6th grade and up and the other is a family service. We know those outside the county travel ban cannot come in for an in-person gathering. Then there are people who don’t feel safe to be inside for a certain period of time with others. (If you lead a church and have had to make these hard decisions, then you know.)
But for the family I am a part of, we can’t wait to be together on Sundays! We greatly respect our church family. We look forward to being with those who come in person and will continue to care for everyone during the week through care calls, online small groups, and meeting up at parks and walks.
Because despite what it looks like on the outside, I am amazed at what’s growing on the inside!
It was so easy to scale what we saw on Sundays as we gathered as a church than what we saw happening Monday through Saturday as the church scattered. This COVID-19 pandemic has opened my eyes to see our church in a whole new way.
Our online services are excellent! With four live gatherings on Sunday, we are able to connect in the chat room. Making the services available on demand through YouTube and our website, people around the world are able to listen and participate. Growing up I always perused the bulletin to see what special music was each Sunday. Now I can’t wait to see interviews done during the week that pop up before the biblical teaching. These interviews express what is happening in the homes, in the small groups, and in our city that we otherwise wouldn’t know. I’m so grateful for our staff team who carries this out and for the people in our church who share their stories. Our small groups are thriving with consistent attendance because we don’t have to go far to come close. This past week we had 358 people in small groups. I share that number to give you a visual of people finding community in a city of restrictions.
I’m not going to live in the land of what’s been lost, but rather the land of what’s been gained.
If I think of what’s been lost, I’m focused on comparison and competition. If I think of what’s been gained, I’m focused on community and compassion.
I’m a part of a church that has figured out how to stay connected despite a virus that forces separation.
I’m a part of a church that has figured out how to gather as a few to keep encouraged during the week.
I’m a part of a church that gets real through text messages as they check in on others and invite more people in as hard stuff arises.
I’m a part of a church where new people have joined even though they’ve never stepped foot into the physical church space.
I’m a part of a church where we’ve done our fair share of goodbyes as people exit the city, but who are still connected online as they wait this virus out in other places. Maybe to return here or to find a local church there.
I’m a part of a church where our family gets text messages, “Hey, I know you’re taking care of all of us...are you getting cared for this week?” Then we get a meal delivered or flowers dropped off because they see us too.
I’m a part of a church that gathers to pray online Wednesday mornings, Thursday afternoons and Sunday mornings. A church that shows up in person every Thursday to distribute food to those in need. A church that continues to financially support the mission here in the city.
We are a church that pays attention to our local context and local community in how we communicate and meet needs. We are trying to listen locally with hearts of compassion and empathy with an understanding that we are all affected by the national and global news.
We aren’t trying to speak out there, but right here.
This pandemic has magnified the local context we all find ourselves in, yet has diminished our connection to the world as we are present more than we travel. In other words, we feel closer and more attuned where we live and more distant and divided with national and global news.
Our restrictions have given tradition time to die. What was heavily relied upon - kid’s programming, retreats, mission trips, and Sunday gatherings haven’t been present and the church goers have had to examine what’s important, necessary, and what God can do personally in us.
Families have created their own nature walks. They’re doing breakfast prayers and bedtime devotionals.
A day out of the city, a walk in the park, meeting up with a friend or two is a spin on retreating.
Mission trips are hyper local as we deliver meals to new parents, those battling depression and loss. It’s partnering with Mobilize Love, Because Justice Matters, the Food Bank. Mission trips are happening right across the street from our homes and apartments.
We’re not trying to get back to what was, but to pay attention to what is. And God is here and among us. We’ve found Jesus out in the neighborhood while still being the Cornerstone of the Church.
If you find yourself clinging to tradition or fussing for normalcy as a Christian, consider these questions:
What stood out to you as you read the Bible today?
Who have you prayed for already today?
What bit of encouragement have you offered to someone today through a text, call, or conversation?
Who is someone who cannot physically come to church if it were to open with whom you can reach out?
Have you gone out of your way to seek a friendship with someone different than you?
If you were to name 10 people who share similar views as you, do they all look like you?
In my opinion, the best thing to happen to the American Church is the shake it has felt in the wake of a global pandemic that has us uncomfortable “in the world” for an extended period of time. The church can thrive without walls! Hear me again…how I’ve missed in-person gatherings, but the stories of discipleship, hospitality, generosity, personal spiritual growth, and community prove Christ doesn’t live in a building, but in us.
Evelyn Underhill wrote,“The light of the world is not the sanctuary lamp in your favorite church.” Sounds a bit like Matthew 5:14-16 where Jesus identifies me and you as the light of the world and tells us to let people see this light.
“We have to learn to live in what is coming from God every day and to carry a light from this awareness into the darkness.” (Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, German pastor and religious socialist)
Whatever your city regulations or personal preferences, let us picture together what can be visible to our local contexts as the Church of Jesus knows we have each other and we’re on a mission to light up our towns.
Next week, I’m personally delivering a letter to a sister church here in the city as we gather in Golden Gate Park. I’ll share the very letter here to you.
Also, I listen regularly to Carey Nieuwhof and Church Pulse Weekly to learn about the trends in the church.
