I am so ready for the pandemic to be over with. I am so ready for churches, stores, shops, entertainment places, restaurants and other businesses to reopen. It would be good for the economy and our well-being to get back to normal. This post is about the reopening of churches.
It would be nice to listen to the sermon up close, sing the hymns and enjoy the fellowship with others. But even with our church buildings closed, God's doors are always open. We can pray, worship and sing His praises even in the solitude of our own homes, it's not the same, to be sure. And does everyone "worship" in the privacy of their homes? Probably not as often as they should. In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, I have reservations about opening our churches and other places too soon.
In the location I live, the church doors were closed in the middle of March, during Lent. We missed our Lenten worship services, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter worship. Now, two months later, the church doors remain closed, but there is talk of reopening.
Our church membership is comprised of mostly senior citizens, aged 65 and up. Many of those people have health issues, such as heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, lung problems and have had cancer. Some of them are smokers. Should any of them contract the COVID-19, they run the risk of serious complications. If the doors to churches (and other establishments) open too soon and this virus creeps into the doors. . . .one can only imagine.
One might argue that it should be your choice to attend or not during this time. Of course that argument has merit. Should the doors open before you are ready to mingle with others, by all means, stay home. (But there will be those who will attend against their better judgement because of a certain amount of "peer pressure.")
People are tired of the isolation - that is understandable. To those who are believers, worship is an essential part of life. Worship nourishes the soul, it solidifies our belief. I am reminded of the early settlers in our area: there were no churches and no pastors for several years after coming to our area. Yet, they worshipped in their homes, kept their faith and built their congregations with a strong faith that endures to this day. Their Sunday worship services were few and far between at first, but their faith remained strong.
In the area where I live, the COVID-19 is just now beginning to escalate. It is expected to peak sometime in June to early July. Shouldn't we at least wait to see how the virus hits our area to reopen?
Pray that God will guide all of us to do the right thing - His will, not ours.
