Regathering Strategy
We held an online forum on Sunday evening, May 24th, in order to discuss our Regathering Strategy for Church of the Redeemer. You can watch or listen to the recording, and you may read the full document below. We will continue to keep you updated as things change and progress, and we look forward to continuing our church mission together!
Grace and Peace to You
Many of the New Testament letters begin with a greeting asking for a blessing of grace and peace. As restrictions for and safety recommendations relax, we share a tension between the joy of seeing one another again and the uncertainty and fear due to the Corona pandemic. The leadership of your church has prayerfully researched, sought counsel, held many discussions, and agonized over how to properly regather Redeemer. Tonight, we want to share with you the process and decisions that have been made. As we do so, may grace abound as we navigate these uncharted waters together and may the peace that passes all understanding guard our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of one another and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Call to Unity
The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians writes, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph. 4:1-6)
What is God calling us to do? His call on us is to have unity. Unity is never over and above truth. Truth produces unity. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. Unity is not easy. It takes work, “make every effort”. It takes spirit-led change, “be completely humble and gentle”. It takes restraint and compassion, “bear with one another in love”. Possibly the greatest thing we can do is become very united during this time as a church. We have a diverse church- different generations, socio-economic realities, and ethnicities. We have men and women and children. We have differing political and theological influences. What we have in common, however, is greater than our differences: we have a relationship with God that supersedes all our human distinctions. Paul writes in Galatians, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal. 2:28) Let us be challenged then, to make every effort to maintain the bond of unity and peace in the church. Your leadership is very aware that this is an emotionally charged moment full of differences of opinion, and the stakes are high. Our desire is to be transparent in the decisions that have been made and in the process of how those decisions are being made, so even if someone may come to differing conclusions on the timing and process of regathering, that he/she will respect the integrity with which this discernment process has been engaged, and will have grace and mercy will all of those who bear the burden of leadership for the glory of God and the good of his people.
The Regathering versus Reopening
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, one thing has been remarkably clear, the church never closed its doors, it just shifted venues. Remarkably, we have been able to do something not even considered possible: church on-line. Yet, we long for embodied presence. We long to see and be close again to each other. The great doctrinal truth of the Christian faith is that the incarnation (Christ among us) and place are very important facets of our belief. Jesus came into our world and elevated the material above ‘just’ spiritual things. So, meeting in person and meeting in sacred space gives us a deep profound connection to God and to each other as human beings. We need each other. Yet, while we needed to forgo meeting together physically, we never stopped meeting together. As a church, our weekly attendance at our Sunday service has remained surprisingly strong. While the culture around us uses phrases like ‘restarting’ and ‘reopening’ we choose to use ‘regathering’. In truth, we never closed.
Our Values during this COVID-19 pandemic
Every person and organization must remain adaptable. Henry Kissinger once wrote, “The historic challenge for leaders is to manage the crisis while building for a better future.” Things are always changing. And this virus has made us adapt some things considerably. Yet, our values of Redeemer remain unchanged.
First, our primary value during this time is to remain faithful to the mission of Christ. We remain the church on mission to make disciples, worship in Word and Sacrament, care for the people of God, love God and our neighbor. Despite different circumstances, our purpose is the same.
Second, we hold very dearly the safety of our people and community. We live lives that are interwoven together. From our compline service we pray “and grant that we may never forget that our common life depends upon each other’s toil” (BCP 2019 p. 64). Our concern is for the flourishing of our church and community physically, relationally, spiritually, and emotionally.
Third, we are striving for unity in community. We are the body of Christ in this local setting. Throughout the decision making process, we have gathered in smaller circles to discern how to live in light of this pandemic. While we have differences of thought and practice, we are committed to doing this together in unity and “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Eph 5:21)
Fourth, we desire to work in collaboration with mediating structures like our Federal, State, and Local government. We also are listening to health systems like the CDC. One of our gifts as Anglicans, is that we are not autonomous local congregations, so we are in consultation with our bishops and other churches of our diocese. Proverbs 13:20 says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”
Lastly, we want to be very wise and very effective in ministry. Therefore, the pursuit of wisdom will necessitate process and a slower result to do all manner of things well. We would rather be accused of being slow and practicing restraint than being accused of being negligent with our people.
The Regather Process
Let me outline the discernment process that we have been working through for the past few weeks. First, we asked The Rev. Canon Dr. Dan Alger, who is now serving as our Associate Rector, here at COTR to lead us through a strategic planning process. The results of this process will be highlighted following this section.
Second, we formed a Regathering Team of Betsy Hundley (Our Senior Lay Leader), Ben Lewis (Our Junior Lay Leader), Rev. Canon Alan Hawkins (Rector), The Rev. Dr. Benjamin Wall (Priest overseeing Pastoral Care), Cherie Weber (Children’s Ministry Director and Next Generation Voice), Dr. Jason Myers (Formation Director – Community Groups and Care Groups), and Jessie Meriwether (Parish Administrator).
Third, we spoke with three medical/health professionals: Dr. Brent McQuaid, Laura Vail, and Sarah Hocutt. We wanted their best thinking on the current situation.
Fourth, we spent considerable time with our Staff Team, Vestry, and Group Leaders.
Fifth, our Bishop has weighed in on directives as well. Two things of note from his Pastoral Counsel to the churches: Slower is not just better it is necessary and proper process is needed for the long haul.
Lastly, we are presenting this ‘best thinking’ to the congregation as a whole. We invite your feedback and thoughts as well.
Our Next Steps
City Groups: Effectively immediately, we will begin to create on paper a new structure in the life of our church called a City Group. A City Group is comprised of 2 to 3 groups (Community, Mission, Care) that is geographically proximate. For instance, Brandon and Anna Johnson and Buddy and Sarah Hocutt lead community groups in the same area of our city. The total people
(adults and children) of these two groups is 40 people. So while they are still two groups, they are now part of a City Group. This City Groups structure will afford us flexibility as well as a great opportunity for mission in the years ahead. The time is now to add this new dimension of ministry and flexibility to our church family.
Sunday Morning Services: For the indefinite and foreseeable future, COTR will remain on Zoom for our Sunday church services. In order to honor a high value of safety, having physically present services during this time will prove incredibly difficult. While we want to be present to each other and until we see some changes in our current situation, in our country, and city, meeting together for a church services is incredibly laborious, risky, and diminished in its experience considering what we used to have as a body. Under Zoom, no one is left out and no one is placed in potential danger. There are several things that we can add to Zoom to make our experience richer.
Although we desire (like many of you) to be together in the same location, to do so under the current safety guidelines is extremely laborious. In order to host a church service for 50 people or less, we will need to completely redesign our meeting space. We will also need to have disinfecting procedures in place, which will mandate a level of cleaning requiring significant time to turn over the building for the next group. In addition, we will need to have registration measures for attendance, along with specific considerations for our children and vulnerable members.
The experience of a gathered worship service would be diminished as well. To reduce risk, the duration of the service needs to be shorter (to eliminate prolonged exposure), with no singing, and no physical interaction. While it would be nice to see each other again, even if we decide to try and meet outside, the experience of church in the heat of summer will be less attractive for the congregation week after week. We surveyed other churches in our city and their enthusiasm to get back together is also smaller than larger in their surveys.
Our Key Indicator
We are looking closely at the timing of the reopening of public schools. When our Federal, State, and Local government in conjunction with health agencies considers the situation reasonably safe to mandate children and teens return to public schools, then we will reconsider if it is beneficial and safe for Redeemer to publicly regather in a large group setting. Until then, let us not neglect assembling together via zoom. We’re are looking to see the effect of re- opening in our city until June 26th. That will be a helpful time to assess meeting for communion during the weekdays either at church or in City Groups.
Flexibility for smaller groups: Following suggested guidelines, we do not prescribe nor forbid gathering in person for groups under 25. However, we ask that whenever possible, all meetings take place outside. Every group and its leadership must ask – is it absolutely necessary and helpful to meet? Every meeting must consider rigorous safety practices (masks, washing of hands, safe social distance, etc.). Also, no group should meet in person if someone (even one person) will be left out because of conscience, anxiety, or vulnerability. We need to be prayerful, thoughtful, and detailed before we decide to gather in smaller groups. In other words, we want you to do the right thing and the best thing, and we want you to work this out together and grow in unity as a group.
Summer Growth Series Courses: as stated at the outset, we are calling our church to unity and mission. Use this summer to grow. The season of Pentecost (ordinary time) is colored with green symbolic of growth. Do not neglect the opportunity to learn new things this summer. We will release next Sunday a larger than normal list of Summer Growth Series from our people here in COTR. Our desire is to see every adult and child participating in at least one Growth Series course. These courses will be held through video teaching with a few virtual or face-to- face gatherings for discussion as appropriate.
Summary
While not unprecedented (there have been diseases, plagues, and pandemics in the past), COVID-19 is the first time we have watched a pandemic cripple all facets of our nation from employment, socialization, education, and globalization. One great Christian thinker, Andy Crouch, recently declared “all non-profit entities are now essentially start-up ventures” because this pandemic is shaking all foundations at so many levels.
Yet, our faith does not rest on shakeable things, but unshakeable truths embodied in our Almighty and Creator God (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit) who does not change. Hebrews 13.8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Therefore, as a church, we have the opportunity to thrive in a time when thriving seems elusive. We do not fear, but rather we press on towards love and good deeds, we bear one another’s burdens, and we give thanks to God who will never forsake us. For now, we live in a tension where we long to be together in person, but the safety of the church, our neighbor, and our community is preventing that from happening to the extent we desire. Press into this longing just as an experience of the reality of our longing for the return of Christ who will make all things new and gather all his people around his throne in a proximity much closer than six feet. Soon and very soon we will be together again, until then let us live in joy and unity and may we be covered with grace and peace.
In Christ,
The Rev. Canon Alan J. Hawkins with the COTR Staff, Vestry, and Leadership Teams
