News today that many churches in Germany were open for worship although with restrictions. Worshippers will have to wear masks, social distancing will be respected and there will be no singing for fear the virus will be spread. Floor markings will be in place for those congregations whose tradition is to go forward for Communion. I’m not sure how the bread and wine will be dispensed hygienically but no doubt that too has been thought out.
It makes you wonder what it will be like when we get back. I’m sure many of us will have cherished a joyful surge back to the buildings we love but I can’t see that without some restrictions. And that will inevitably cause some people to hesitate.
It may yet be a while before we are back to what we recognise as ‘normal’. Mind you the message I am hearing from many Christian broadcasts is that that is the last thing we want. We must pray that what we are learning and experiencing in this time of lockdown will be carried into the future and we will meet a changed world as a changed people. I don’t disagree with this. Thinking about the Church in general there was much about our ‘normal’ that was good. The Gospel was preached, we had fellowship, we had projects, there was caring and mission. But perhaps we had become too comfortable with it all. Now something has happened to us, catastrophic for some let us not forget, but an opportunity not just to patch up what we have left but to rebuild.
The original plans for the present building of Milngavie: St Paul’s contained a tower. That didn’t happen due to lack of funds. So in an architectural sense it is an unfinished project. Not a bad thing for a church building to be because the Church which Jesus has promised to build will always be unfinished this side of eternity. We are called to be the Church in our time and in a particular place and that means always being on a stretch to tell the story of Jesus and to share His love with those in need. A task that is always unfinished but must be carried through whatever our circumstances.
When we get through these Covid-19 days we will find a changed world. I am not sure what Church life will be like but if we use this time to pray and to meditate on God’s Word then the Holy Spirit has an opportunity to change us and to prepare us for the challenges ahead. Paul calls on those who live by the Spirit to ‘keep in step with the Spirit.’ (Galatians 5: 25) It is His vision to lead a changed people to engage with a changed world.
