In this environment we cannot help but ask how are we to be church now? What happens to worship going forward? Will we ever receive communion again?
Even though we're under a stay-at-home order and have to maintain physical distance, we're still connected by our hearts, by our loves and by God's love for each of us – and we can continue to nurture our connection to God and to each other without leaving our houses.
For Easter Sunday at Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City, Director of Music Colin Britt put together a virtual choir.
This Easter was strange, Canon Clark reflects - but then, so was the first Easter, which changed everything.
At the first Easter, the women were going to tell the disciples the tomb was empty when they ran into Jesus. Bishop Hughes asks, where are WE running into Jesus?
As we prepare to celebrate Easter in our homes instead of our church buildings, Bishop Hughes reflects on what the story of Hagar teaches about how God can help us deal with circumstances beyond our control.
The Rev. Tom Mathews, Rector of Christ Church in Ridgewood, describes how the parish has adapted to remain in communion while they are unable to gather in their church building.
Holy Week this year is going to be a very different experience for us. Bishop Hughes talks about how we can still find holiness in it. (Time: 4:59.)
This is Bishop Hughes in the Diocese of Newark. I want to talk with you today about Holy Week, and Holy Week in this time that we live in. It is going to be a very different experience of Holy Week this year. One where we enter in individually, where we enter in in families, where we enter in with a loved one or maybe by ourselves and we enter in to Holy Week in our own homes.
All Saints, Hoboken cleverly uses an outdoor sign in their high-traffic location to let their neighborhood know that while their doors are closed during the "stay at home" order, the church as embodied by the people is still very much present.
Last Sunday as we sipped our morning coffee, my husband asked me if I was going to attend “Virch.” Anyone who knows my husband knows his love for language and, especially, humor. So, it wasn’t surprising to me that, even before the caffeine had time to kick in, he was able to offer up a tongue-in-cheek portmanteau that described our new normal for worshipping.
Virtual church: Virch.
Who would have thought that, as quickly as our clocks changed just a few short weeks ago, our worship lives would shift so dramatically—and even more quickly?
