Practicing Community in the time of COVID-19

Some ideas from Vienna Baptist Church that can be adjusted to your own contexts

While we may not gather together on Sunday morning, we are going to continue to fulfill our mission of changing lives and transforming our community with God’s love. We will practice being church and living on mission together in three key ways:

Equipping House Churches

Long before steeples and sanctuaries, the Church existed as a network of small gatherings meeting in homes. During this time when we can’t gather as a larger body, we will equip families and small gatherings of people to be church together. Every Sunday morning at 11 am, we will post a new video worship experience online so you can worship with us at home. We hope you join us either through our website or our YouTube page. We also encourage you to use our Lenten Prayer Guide as a resource for personal times of worship over the next few weeks. If you don’t have a copy, you can download one here. Let’s lean into the intimate, personal rhythms of worship that have sustained the Church for centuries.

Staying Connected

In the coming days, you will hear a lot about “social distancing”- measures taken to restrict when and where people can gather to stop or slow the spread of infectious diseases. As a community rooted in loving and caring relationships, we want to make sure that “social distancing” does not become “social isolation.” Our Chair of the Diaconate, Linda Gooding, is asking our deacons to call and check-in with each of their families once a week while social distancing measures are in place. I encourage each of you to call people in your community group, friends, family, and neighbors so that no one feels lonely or isolated during these anxious times. The staff is also exploring ways we can leverage technology to hold online Bible study and prayer times together. The best antidote to fear is love rooted in relationships, so let’s stay connected together.

Supporting Mission Partners

Economists are already warning of possible economic fallout if the COVID-19 outbreak leads to prolonged shutdowns for schools, businesses, and other industries. Those hardest hit by these shutdowns will be the most vulnerable in our society: the hourly worker now without a paycheck and no way to pay rent, the child whose free school lunch was their primary meal for the day, and the homebound senior who can’t afford for their caregiver to get sick. In this time, it’s important that we offer our support to our mission partners. I have already reached out to our friends at Cunningham Park Elementary School to let them know we are ready to help in any way possible. I can’t express to you how grateful they were just to know we were thinking about them and praying for them. Our BritePaths leaders are also planning to increase our giving to families dealing with food insecurity, recognizing that they have little margin in their budgets to stockpile for quarantines like many of us. I’ve also asked our other Mission Action Group Leaders to reach out to our other partners to see what needs emerge in the days ahead. The Church’s public witness has always shined brightest in the midst of crises when we have responded with courage and compassion. Let’s be a bold witness to God’s love and help transform our community during this time.