Reverence

In many Lutheran congregations it is a common practice to reverence the altar and the cross (usually positioned in the same place), especially for worship leaders such as acolytes, pastors, and assisting ministers. This act of reverence is usually performed with a slight bow toward the cross and the altar – an act of humility and honor before the symbol of our Lord’s death and resurrection, and the table where he comes to us with grace and promise in bread and cup.

In recent weeks I have started also to reverence the congregation before I walk down the aisle during the sending song. After bowing toward the cross and altar, I turn and bow toward the congregation and the camera which points me toward the congregation gathered online. The congregation is the Body of Christ, a symbol - and the incarnate reality of - Christ in this world.

Made to be the body of Christ, the congregation is truly holy and worthy of reverence – more so, even, than the furnishings which point us to God’s amazing grace. Because while wood and stain and craftsmanship are blessed gifts, the congregation is a gift like no other, for it is living and breathing and animated by the Holy Spirit, made in the image of God our Creator and knit together as the one Body of Christ in the world.

Let us honor not only the symbols of our faith, but also the living, breathing witnesses of our faith – the church and the people who are the church. For they, for we, are the ones Jesus calls to be his body given for the sake of the world. Such a gift is truly worthy of our reverence.

Worship Updates for October 2020

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Starting on Sunday, October 18, we will gather together for worship in our homes, scattered across our community as we livestream the service from inside our sanctuary without a gathered congregation.

Governor Holcomb recently issued a statewide order requiring continued mask-wearing and social distancing. Several large corporations are keeping their office buildings closed into next year. Area schools are open but mostly on a hybrid basis. And Bishop Bill Gafkjen, in a letter published just this week, urged continued caution for churches. Read Bishop Gafkjen's letter here.

The reality is that we have a small space for worship and fellowship, and that size significantly limits our ability to maintain safe social distance from one another. It's one thing to gather outdoors with a steady airflow and a wide space across which to spread out. In the enclosed space of our sanctuary and entranceway, spacing is limited and air circulation is not vigorous. In Christian care for each other and for our community, we will not gather indoors for worship until pandemic conditions significantly improve.

Even as we agreed not to come indoors for in-person worship, the Ministry Board decided to start a new Member Care Team called to connect more with our congregation as we enter a new season of distancing. The Ministry Board also is looking into leasing a larger space for Christmas worship, allowing us to come together safely during the week prior to Christmas to herald the birth of Christ. We are also expanding Zoom fellowship and Christian Learning opportunities, and will maintain our Sunday worship livestream and Zoom coffee hour.

I am proud of how New Joy has adapted during the pandemic. Thank you for your faithfulness. Keep up your prayers and acts of Christian care, and find us on YouTube for worship, learning, and more.

And most importantly, seek comfort in the cross of Christ and the empty grave of Easter. You can't do it all these days. The fatigue caused by the countless adjustments, emotional let-downs, opportunities lost, anxieties and disruptions caused by the pandemic is real. Find rest and comfort in our Lord Jesus, who urges all who are weary to come to him, for he will carry your burdens (Matthew 11:28-30). Receive Christ's peace (John 14:27), and let divine grace hold you during these troubled times.

"We are experiencing all kinds of trouble, but we aren't crushed. We are confused, but we aren't depressed. We are harassed, but we aren't abandoned. We are knocked down, but we aren't knocked out" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Our God is with us, guiding us through this pandemic and leading us from challenge to promise, death to life, despair to hope.

Dear friends, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the church still gathers. I'll see you at church.

Pastor Chris

Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,

We are pleased to announce that on Sunday, July 12, New Joy Lutheran Church is returning to in-person, outdoor worship at our new pavilion. Services will continue to be streamed online via YouTube for those not attending in person: New Joy YouTube Channel

We are committed to making our worship experience safe to help "stop the spread" of COVID-19 in our community. We know that COVID-19 has spread at churches around the country, and we do not want our worship to be a vector for disease. As such, we are adhering the following protocols for worship:

Worship Protocols

We are wearing masks at worship, removing them only if necessary when beyond six feet from someone else.

All attendees will bring their own folding chairs. Seating will be arranged with at least six feet of distance between household groups.

We are not singing in worship at this time, to avoid extended projection of aerosols that carry the coronavirus. Music for meditation and reflection will be played throughout the service.

Worship is a "no touch" experience. We are not receiving holy communion, passing offering plates, distributing bulletins, or greeting one another with handshakes or hugs.

The bathroom is not available for use, except for emergency needs only. Please use the restroom at home before coming to church. We want to all but eliminate the touching of shared surfaces (door handles, toilet seats, etc.) inside our church building.

Following worship we will depart to our own cars, avoiding extended conversation and fellowship.

We recommend that people bring water to drink, as it can get warm outside in the sun. Tailgate-style tents and umbrellas are welcome to be set up further back from the pavilion to provide additional shade.

Worship is at the heart of our life together as a church. It is at the foot of the cross and the opening to the empty grave that our Lord comes to us both in our sorrow and in our joy. In sorrow and in joy we gather to give praise, to lift up our prayers, to receive God's many blessings, and to be renewed in the Living Word for our mission in the world.

Worship will look and feel different during this pandemic, but God's grace is unwavering. Let us embrace the difference of this time, experience the promise of our Lord's presence in new ways, and engage the complexity of this moment with the gift of faith.

Dear friends, the church still gathers. By God's grace, we remain connected in faith, hope, and in love. I'll see you at church.

Pastor Chris

I skipped "Pandemic Pastoring 101" at seminary.

As Indiana slowly returns toward a tentative full opening on the 4^th of July – even as Carmel’s 4^th of July parade has already been canceled – houses of worship around the state are making their own faithful, local decisions about when and how to return to in-person worship.

Opening a church building, after all, is quite different than opening an office, restaurant, or barber shop.

For one, #TheChurchStillGathers. Our building has been closed, but our ministry has not shut down. We have continued to worship and pray, share fellowship, study God’s Word, give, and serve. We are blessed with generous and faithful financial support that has maintained New Joy’s expenses and enabled the expansion of our ministry online. Thank you for your faithfulness.

Secondly, gathering for worship is qualitatively different than pretty much any other way we interact with others in society.

• We sit together in one room for just over an hour.
• We shake hands and even hug one another at church.
• We share a ritual meal that includes dipping bread into a common cup.
• We sing.
• We share coffee and conversation afterwards.
• Children run around and touch things - many things.

Each of these behaviors are understood to be risky, contributing to the spread of the coronavirus.

Guidance from our local bishop, our denomination, and our insurance company urges caution. Experts convened by national choral associations say it is not safe to sing. Serving food and handing out items – from bulletins to communion – is off the table for now. Maintain six-foot distance. Clean constantly.

We are working on a path forward

The Ministry Board met earlier this week, and will meet again in two weeks to determine our faithful path forward. We are reading updated recommendations from church leaders and from state public health officials. We are considering the call of faith to put the needs of others before our own (Philippians 2:4) and to seek the welfare of the whole community (Jeremiah 29:7). The last thing we want is for our worship gatherings to become, unintentionally, vectors of viral infection. As we consider reopening our building for in-person worship and ministry, safety is our focus and the logistics of safety are our conundrum.

Livestream will continue

Throughout all this, we are committed to continuing the livestream of our worship services, recognizing that even when New Joy returns to some form of in-person worship many of you will choose to stay home. #TheChurchStillGathers

Two of the most consequential moments in the Bible’s story are the Exodus and the Exile – periods of generational disruption for God’s people. These periods included weeping and lament, renewal and hope, adaptation and struggle. Yet through it all, God was faithful.

So too for us now. God’s Word is not absent from us. Instead, we are more aware than ever of the Living Word’s pervasive and persistent presence, coming to us in our living rooms and on our devices, in Zoom calls and in our daily devotions, in our walks outdoors and our unexpected and socially distanced interactions with others. The Spirit is leading us into new ways of hearing and heeding God’s call.

Dear friends, by the grace of God, #TheChurchStillGathers. Thank you for being the church. Pray for your Ministry Board and me, your pastor. Pray for our community, nation, and world. Be patient with one another, and with yourself. Trust in God, who is most certainly our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1).

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Chris