I must admit that I’ve developed some very bad, lazy habits over the past many, many months. I remember, ‘way back in March (not last March, but the previous March) when that pandemic business reared its pesky head. Things closed down, no more church, and on Sunday morning, I went to “church” in my office/on my computer. (Actually, I also went to Target, early on that Sunday morning, which I had never, ever been able to do, since I was always on my way to Sunday School at that time.) But at church time, I cued up the worship service and watched “church” happen.
And that’s what I’ve been doing, this past year and a half. I have “gone to church” in my office on my computer, on the front porch on my iPad, and, last Sunday, when I wasn’t feeling well, I went to church in my bathroom, on my phone.
On Father’s Day, we went to real church in Fort Worth, because Kevin was preaching that Sunday, and he wanted us to come. At their church, they’d begun to have people in their worship center for the worship service. We’ve also recently begun having in-person worship service at church, with limited, masked, well-spaced worshipers. This coming Sunday, things are going to be as back-to-usual as possible. There will be Sunday School for all ages and then worship service. We’ll all be masked, but we’ll all be there. Well, as many of us as are willing. The worship service will still be live-streamed, for folks who still prefer to watch online.
It will be nice to see and greet folks I haven’t actually seen, face-to-face, in a year and a half. And, given the difficulty I have in identifying people by seeing only their eyes, I may be saying “HI! Good to see you!!” without actually saying their names, just in case I can’t figure out to whom I’m talking/greeting/conversing at length with.
I have actually been in the building a few times. Back in November, there was that recognition thing (that I really didn’t want, but no one asked me how I felt about it). And, a couple of months ago, I attended a funeral there, for a long-time church member who’d passed away. And, in the summer, (that first summer) I’d gone into the preschool area of the building to clean and organize the room where I’d taught Sunday School for all those years. I’d accumulated lots of “someday I could use this” stuff that I got rid of. I organized things more effectively, and labeled bins and drawers so the next teachers in the room could locate supplies.
Back in those days, on Sunday mornings, I’d leave the house at 7:30 or 8:00, to have plenty of time to get the room ready for kids. This coming Sunday morning, I’m looking forward to a leisurely morning, maybe reading the paper, taking my time. I’ll probably have to park farther away than I usually would, and that shady spot where I always parked will probably be taken. I’ll manage.
We have a brand-new preacher, whom I’ve watched on my computer a few times. Now I’ll get to hear her preach, in-house. It’s a little bit exciting, going back into church, worshiping with my church family for real for the first time in so many, many months. I think it really is going to be better than watching on the computer.
Here are a variety of versions of Psalm 122:1