WE are the Church

As we make our way through these unprecedented times, when almost everything is influenced by the impact of Coronavirus, it is important to remember what we know but don't always take entirely seriously, that church is not a building where we have the chance to meet for an hour or so on a Sunday morning somewhere around 11 am. - but we are the Church, and so, locationally, the Church is wherever we are. I know that is stating the obvious, but sometimes the obvious is worth stating!

Dave Walker has kindly made freely available a cartoon that makes the point - for more information on that go to http://cartoonchurch.com/ - but here it is:

Yes, it is important to remember, and take seriously, that we are the Church. Church is where we are. It is not that building that actually is not going to be open on a Sunday morning for a while - and we just don't know how long that 'while' is going to be.

There is lots out there about how we can connect. Many local congregations are already doing extremely good things. That is going to get both easier and more difficult. It is will get easier as we get more used to it; but it will get more difficult as time goes on, which it will, for a bit at least. The novelty will probably wear off, and we will just want this phase to be over.

I am reminded of the Israelites in exile. They just wanted to get home, back to normal - and who could blame them. How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? In a very different way, we are in a strange land. May we know God's blessings as we seek new and context appropriate ways of singing God's song.

And, as Jesus would say, look out for one another! I think he actually said: love one another.