Finding Faith ... in living without answers

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, “Pastor, when do you think we’ll get back to regular services?” … well, I’d be able to retire a lot sooner than my financial advisor’s current projection!

But, seriously, that question is THE No. 1 topic on most of your minds when I get the chance to talk with you.

And while the pastor in me beams that our gathering together as a faith community is so important to you, the pragmatist in me tells me that we are a ways off before we’ll be able to gather together in person as a faith family again.

It is Tuesday afternoon when I write this, and I held off writing this article specifically until now so that I could attend our weekly video conference meeting of the rostered leaders of the Northwestern Minnesota Synod led by Bishop Bill Tesch. Each week during this rostered leaders meeting on Tuesday afternoons, part of the agenda is to talk about the future, including when it might be safe and manageable to return to regular, in-person services.

And the message that came out of today’s meeting was the same as the message that came out of last week’s meeting: Unfortunately, we do not know when we will have regular services again, but the likelihood is that we will be in for a long reentry plan when we do begin to hold services in person.

What does this mean? … I’ll try to unpack it as best as I can.

First, we all, including churches, are still under Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order, meaning that we couldn’t hold worship services now if we wanted to. We are bound by state law, and by the core principle that while worshiping together is important, it also has to be safe.

Second, that stay-at-home order is in place at least until Monday, May 4, and so we are awaiting further information from the governor after that.

Third, based on the information that the governor and the state’s top medical experts have shared, even when state officials begin to lift the stay-at-home order, it will be done in stages. So for instance, when we went into the stay-at-home order, the orders came pretty quickly. Don’t gather in groups of more than 250. Then 50. Then 10. Then not at all. … And all of that happened quickly within a couple of weeks time.

The information that we are receiving from the state and the bishop tells us that our “opening up” of the state, and our churches, will be much more protracted, and there will be stricter guidelines than when we went into the stay-at-home scenario.

So, when we can begin to hold in-person services, it’ll probably go in stages: 10 people, 20 people, 50 people, etc. But the challenge will be that the stay-at-home order will likely still be in effect for those people who are considered “high risk.” And if you look at the description of those who are considered “high risk,” it includes seniors, the very young and anyone with an underlying medical condition.

Well … look around our congregation on any given Sunday and the vast majority of those who attend service at Faith Lutheran, and most churches frankly, would fall into one of those descriptions of being “high risk.” … Which ultimately means, it could be a long time before we are all back to service together at one time in the sanctuary.

So, the next natural question then becomes: Well, if we can’t meet in person for the foreseeable future, what does that mean for Sunday service? … And the answer is multifaceted.

Faith Lutheran Council President Deb Byars and I have begun the discussion about what our services will look like through May and into summer. … And what I absolutely know for certain is that we will continue to have a Sunday service in some fashion.

We have demonstrated that we can pull off an enjoyable experience meeting through Facebook Live each week. While it’s not the same as being able to see each other face to face, the technology is giving us a means to continue to worship together. And the Spirit is doing her job regardless! ... So, we will continue to hold worship on Sunday live on Facebook, and post them to our church’s YouTube channel.

And that is what the rest of May will look like. You’ll be seeing me up there at the altar, doing live services.

However, once we get through May, we likely will take advantage of the summer months to do some joint “broadcasts” with our friends at the Comstock-Hoff Lutheran Parish, just as we did in Lent. That was a valuable experience for both of our churches, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of our good relationship.

Additionally, our bishop has stated that he will periodically record some sermons to help sprinkle in on Sundays to help our synod’s pastors find some sabbath time as well. You may remember that we took advantage of this very gift from the bishop on the Sunday following Easter so that the Digital Services Response Team and I could take a weekend off.

Finally, it is not out of the question that we also may have a lay led service at some point in the summer months as well.

So, Faith Family, the bottom line is this: Faith Lutheran will have a church service each Sunday even if we are not communing in person. The service might be led by me; it might be led by Comstock-Hoff Pastor Jill Steichen; it might be a lay led service; or it might even consist of a pre-recorded sermon by our bishop. But my commitment to you is that we still will have Sunday services of some variation every week until we can again gather together in person.

Trust me Faith Family, there is no one who wants to be able to gather in person more so than I. … I can’t even describe to you what it feels like to preach to a nearly empty sanctuary.

Ask, any of the other four members of the Digital Services Response Team -- Deb, Austin Erickson, Mike Nelson and Veronica Nelson -- and I believe that they would tell you the same thing: Our Sunday services right now are lonely!

And so, yes, I can’t wait for the return of normal services again either! … But we will balance our desire to commune together again with the direction we receive from the state, from the bishop and with our desire to keep all of the members of our Faith Family as safe and healthy as possible.

I hope that you all are sheltering in faith with confidence, and that you are safe, healthy and mentally, emotionally and spiritually well. Remember to get some moderate exercise, go outside when and if you can, and continue to keep up meaningful relationships with your neighbors, friends and loved ones.

And if you find yourself in need of a call, please do not hesitate to reach out to me!

Blessings to you all Faith Family!

Intern Pastor Devlyn