Drama Llama Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 (edited) Yesterday, 19 members of our family, from 4 generations and 5 households attended the vigil mass "together" 2020 style. After a few months of holding this service outside, they moved inside for daylight savings. Our church building is huge, and attendance is low, so it's very socially distanced, with mandatory masks and no group singing, but it's still outside all of our comfort level. Instead, our nuclear family attended from my DH's sister's house where we're visiting from the weekend. I opened a google meet, and shared the livestream with the rest of the family so we could attend together. We had 2 people watching from the couch, 2 lying on the floor coloring in a Catholic coloring book, while we watched the service on the Apple TV. My husband's great aunt, who is on strict lockdown with her grandson and his husband, also attended from home. One blessing of the pandemic is that online church means that she can attend with her brother, even if they're far apart. It's also nice that she can attend with her grandsons close, without forcing them into a church where they don't feel welcome. The rest of the family decided they wanted to receive communion, so they attended from 3 separate cars in the parking lot, using their cellphone hotspots to stream the service to their iPads, and then walking up to the church door to receive the sacrament there. Unfortunately, my 10 year old seems to have passed his inability to sit through a church service on to his younger cousins who left halfway through because they "needed to use the bathroom". My atheist/Jewish BIL, who my SIL drags to church for this very reason, was probably delighted at the excuse to leave. If you had told me last year that this is how church would look in 2020, I'm not sure I would have believed you, but it seems to work, and even had a few advantages. So, what does church look like for your family in 2020? Edited November 22, 2020 by BaseballandHockey grammar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Our church is having parking lot services still, and we go sometimes, but honestly, usually when my husband is playing. I'm embarrassed to say we struggle with Sunday morning church. Our attendance has always been much more reliable at evening services, and those aren't being held in person. Usually I watch the streaming of our church's service after the fact. And I go to the Zoom services for a church that's on the other side of the country from me. Sometimes I also go to another Zoom church from a friend's church. I prefer Zoom church over live streams; it feels way more participatory. I miss the sacraments though. When we go to parking lot services, we have Communion, but it's bring your own elements, and that just doesn't feel right to me, with my high sacramental theology. I mean, it is covid safer. But still. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 How does bring your own elements work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 So, for parking lot church, you bring your own bread/ cracker and wine (or grape juice, I guess, would probably be fine). The whole parking lot is considered for purposes of consecration to be the altar. Then individuals or families consume the elements after the consecration. So you don't have to get within six feet of anyone else or touch anything someone else has touched. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Our church is very small, and we shut down in March and have been struggling to start up again. Our pastor did some YouTube sermons early on, and we've had a few meetings where people sit far apart. We don't do sacraments, so that's not an issue, but I like how your churches are being creative about communion. Right now, we're back to YouTube sermons. I think we're all learning that church is more about the community and relationships than about a weekly meeting. We're closer to some people than others, and have kept up on their lives and have helped each other out in this time. Our pastor has tried to touch base with every family through zoom calls and emails. We meet regularly for bible study with our next-door neighbors. It's all very unofficial, but it seems to keep us grounded. I have personally looked into some outside resources for my own walk of faith. We're in a completely non-liturgical church, but I've been enjoying a prayer app from the Church of England. It has daily morning and evening prayers and readings, with audio and text to read along. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 I would love to know the name of the app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 19 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said: I would love to know the name of the app. The app is called "Time to Pray" and there's also a "Daily Prayer" app from The Church of England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon H P Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 We run a lay Episcopal fellowship in our little community and we have had Zoom church every Sunday since March-- as well as another lay leader running a Saturday night vespers. It's actually been really nice! (methowepiscopal.com) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Shannon H P said: We run a lay Episcopal fellowship in our little community and we have had Zoom church every Sunday since March-- as well as another lay leader running a Saturday night vespers. It's actually been really nice! (methowepiscopal.com) That sounds lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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