Dealing with the closure of our church ministries has been a difficult process for everyone. For some of you, it’s probably been the longest period that you’ve gone without attending a church service since you were born. For others without such established patterns of church attendance, the separation is different. As we try to navigate through the unchartered pandemic waters that we’re facing, it’s important that we continue to listen to each other and seek God’s will for our next steps. To help in that, I wanted to share the results of our latest survey about returning to in-person worship services along with some of my own thoughts.

Out of just over 50 households who answered the survey, only one indicated that they would like to return to in-person services as soon as possible. Although churches are opening in other parts of the province, many in the GTA and among our congregation here in Richmond Hill, still feel that it’s too early. As is consistent with other churches, a large number of respondents, in our case 36%, said that they wouldn’t be returning until after a vaccine is available. Health considerations, obviously, make it impossible for those in vulnerable groups to return while COVID-19 is still an active threat. That being said, 30% of the respondents said that they would likely return in September. While the summer months typically involve vacations and movement anyway, the fall is when people are usually looking to settle into their routines and a significant number from our church are hoping that includes in-person services. The remaining 32% aren’t ready to return now or in September necessarily but haven’t given up on returning before a vaccine is available. Some of those people said that they would return in January (12%) while others said that they would wait and see (10%). These two groups may actually be saying the same thing. They talk about wanting to see how the measures are working in other churches and feel that so much is still so unpredictable now. We don’t know about a second wave or what the fall will bring. The final 10% of respondents said that they would return once the restrictions are lifted. The problem is that it’s hard to imagine the lifting of restrictions before a vaccine is available.

Before returning to in-person services, different people are looking for different things to be in place. Those in the more vulnerable categories are obviously looking for a vaccine to be accessible (40%). More than a third (36%) want to see the number of new cases per day drop significantly. In Ontario, we’re still seeing a little over 100 cases of COVID-19 per day, but they want to see this below 10 cases per day before they return. Not being able to sing congregationally was the obstacle for many of the others (17%). The remaining 6% was made up of one family wanting the nursery reopened, another looking for more confirmation from health experts that it was safe, and a third waiting to see how reopening plans had impacted infections in other parts of the province. Interestingly, no one was pushing for children’s ministries to reopen and several stated concerns about this while sharing gratefulness for the online Sunday School that is being provided.

The feedback that everyone has provided is invaluable as we meet as elders later this week to discuss our next steps. But let me address one of the hopes that a number of people expressed and all of us are probably feeling. We want things to go back to normal, don’t we? We want to sing and fellowship and preferably drink coffee and eat snacks together just like we did before. That’s what I’d like anyway! But ‘normal’ isn’t just an elders meeting or government announcement away. It’s hard to imagine that normal worship services will be allowed by the government as long as the pandemic is with us. Singing, in particular, is a source of transmission that will likely continue to be restricted while COVID-19 is still a reality. While we all wait for normal, I think each of us needs to be asking ourselves about ‘now’.

• What are you doing now to make worship a part of your weekly routine? A little under 60% of the congregation has gotten used to using the worship playlist to praise God each week. Others may express their praise in different ways. Waiting for another year to pass and telling God that you took an extended break from worship because things weren’t normal surely isn’t an option though. Make worship a part of your routine now.

• What are you doing now to engage other believers in fellowship? Almost half of our congregation is taking part in online life groups and prayer groups. Some people have joined a group for the first time during the pandemic. This is wonderful! Others invest time in porch visits, phone calls and socially distant walks. Putting fellowship on hold while we wait for normal isn’t an option though. Make fellowship a part of your routine now.

• What are you doing now to serve your neighbours and church family? Some are helping out with groceries. Others are putting their skills to work to support our online ministries. Others are active in intercession and encouragement. If the body of Christ stops serving though, the body gets sick. Make service a part of your routine now.

Finally, while we all feel the days blending into one another because of COVID-19, God still calls us to honour the Lord’s Day. Has the novelty of listening to an online sermon worn off? That’s okay. The novelty of it was never intended to be our motivation in the first place. The preaching of God’s Word is our lifeline. Give priority to it in your weekly routine.

We grieve the fact that we can’t have normal because of the pandemic, but we can’t ignore now while we wait for normal. May God bless your now and speed the return to normal as we wait on Him!

In awe of Him,

Paul