Guest commentary by Tara Spuhler McCabe
Thanks to COVID-19 (scratch that) … thanks to the CDC guidelines, churches get a RESET button for being a welcoming church!
Right now, many congregations are navigating their reentry procedures and practices. Some churches are offering a limited number of sanctuary seats to attend worship in person. Some congregations, have someone standing outside and checking temperatures of folks before they enter the worship space. I’ve heard a concern about the possibility of a “waitlist” to attend in-person worship. The motivation in all of this is so that congregations can get back together.
But there are questions of welcome to consider now, too. What about the people who have been joining you online and will not be attending in person — how do we welcome them? And how do we navigate the nuances involved with worshipping in person when all are not vaccinated? What if someone comes and does not follow the guidelines of wearing a mask while inside? And, what about music? Luckily, sitting 3 feet, 6 feet or even 10 feet apart will not be hard to do in many of our sanctuaries, but singing hymns together will surely not be the way it was before.
These questions are real and important — but they are not going to help us become welcoming churches. I want us to flip this question of welcome, and ask new questions that can motivate and affirm who we are as members in the Body of Christ. We need to be where the people are. We need to see, need to see them dancing… oops, that is a song from “The Little Mermaid”! But it is the right idea. Here’s the right question: How can we get to where the people are and make sure they know that they are welcomed into the life and love of Jesus Christ?
We can acknowledge that in-person worship will not be accessible for all people. And, we can accept that we will need to provide several stages and phases of reentry in the coming months. A welcoming church will offer multiple entry points to rituals, Bible studies, Christian education, mission engagement and other ministries of the church. We need to be present wherever the people are and accepting of where they are coming from. With this in mind, we can develop and provide welcoming options.
Some welcome points can be online only. Some can be in person only. Some welcome points may start in person and then move online (or vice versa). What is not welcoming is if a visitor walks up to the doors of the church and must prove that they have been vaccinated in order to attend. Or if this is their first time to church and they can only meet new people from a distance (oh, that is another song!).
Give yourself credit that you have navigated a way to provide worship and congregational care during this pandemic. And now, we can meet people right where they are and in doing so, meet new people who are glad we welcomed them to this sacred entity known as church: people seeking to glorify God and fully to enjoy God forever.
That is correct, that is our goal! The first question of the Larger and Shorter Catechisms is our theological guide for these discerning times. How will we make sure people are able to glorify God and fully enjoy God forever? What can we provide for people to be welcomed into this life of enjoyment? Where do we need to be so that people know they are welcomed to glorify God and that we will enjoy God with them?
These are questions that we can use to begin our discernment. We can’t assume that we are to only be fixated on the building doors and entryways. Thanks to the CDC guidelines, we can now work on other personal and practical ways to be about welcoming people into the Body of Christ. For the time being, we can consider providing multiple venues and encounters of welcome. And, we must accept that anything we “set up” will need to be adjusted. How can the community around the church building learn about you if they will not be coming into the building? What can you provide and what do you need to do so that you are where the people are?
Basic practices in organizing are helpful here. Host one-on-one conversations with people who are seeking to belong. Listen to where they are now in their spiritual journey. Recognize the sparks and connections that arise during the conversation.
Let me share a story. For a second year in a row, I was invited to hold an outdoor Easter service right on the street in our neighborhood. The relationships are deep after 17 years. We share a lot with one another. Therefore, when asked I said yes. I was still nervous. It is vulnerable to be sharing and leading outside of my “box.” The invitation went out via texts and was posted on the neighborhood Facebook page. A neighbor rolled out their mic and speaker into their driveway. I walked up and welcomed us all to a sacred time that we have set apart in an ordinary day with ordinary neighbors. Close to 60 of us shared in a service with prayer, Scripture, sermon and a pop-up minute for mission from a child in the neighborhood. It was amazing.
As holy as that service was, we are not going to start our own church —many of us happily belong to other churches. But, we know that along with our respective houses of worship we also want to have a street Easter service next year. There can be multiple welcoming points into the relationship with God. We need to be where the people are and welcome the invitations that come our way.
Here’s another story about some leaders in a church who want to re-welcome themselves back to the community where their church building is. Even though the doors are not yet open, they want the community to know that the church people are still here! I love this idea. They are organizing to regularly host a time of blessing and welcome outside on the front steps of the building. They are blessed to be on the corner of a busy intersection with runners, young people, scooter riders, bicyclist and dog walkers! The church wants to be welcomed back and welcome others back to them.
The trick is that moment in the organizing conversation with us church folk. The moment that we get nervous of being out of the box. Some started raising box-like questions: What about when the dog walker won’t pick up after their dog? What if someone needs to use the bathroom? What if they can’t find parking? Do we need better equipment to be outside? Who is going to set up chairs? Don’t use the nicer chairs… do we need chairs? To which I want to cry, “STOP!”
Just hang out and meet the people where they are. On Easter, I just walked up to the driveway wearing my collar and carrying a notebook. (I don’t even think I even opened the notebook.) Just gather on the steps and sing a favorite prayer song. Say hello and just ask how they are doing. Offer to pray with them.
People are out on the streets crying out to be heard. We are called by Christ to go to them. People are seeking belonging, acceptance and welcome. Jesus tells us, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). This pandemic has given us the opportunity to become congregations of welcome by meeting people where they are. We are called go to people and welcome them to glorify God and fully enjoy God forever.
We are still going to have to figure out how we will start gathering. We will need to model safe practices of welcome and care. But they do not need to all fit back into one box. In fact, by offering and organizing a few different ways to meet one another, we can meet people where they are and stay safe. In all the work and in all the rest, I believe God is doing a new thing, now it springs forth. Our opportunity is not only to perceive it but to welcome others to participate in enjoying God forever.
I want to thank the congregations and leaders within National Capital Presbytery for asking their presbytery staff to be a resource of possibilities throughout this pandemic. From their requests we have been working with consultants from NextChurch, Service Never Sleeps, Convergence, Holy Cow and IAF organizers so that together we can navigate these days.
TARA SPUHLER McCABE is the transitional director of congregational development and mission in National Capital Presbytery. She serves with a background in congregational growth, church assessment training, community building through outreach services, certified coaching, site coordinator for the Young Adult Volunteer Program in Washington, D.C., and as associate pastor at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. She resides with her family in Arlington, Virginia.
