A Testimony to the Times: Why we have continued our worship services during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Pastor Todd Ruddell
The times in which we live are indeed strange. Had a minister of the Gospel stood in the pulpit in January of 2020, and declared with confidence that by March of that same year the majority of all Churches would be nearly uninhabited on the Lord’s Day, their doors closed to the bulk of their membership and potential visitors, and their worship services canceled what would have been the reaction? The best or most charitable response would be raised eyebrows, and the worst, perhaps cries for his removal for inculcating unnecessary fear. Yet, here we are. In our own town, it is at least odd to see Church parking lots empty on the way to Church on the Lord’s Day, and grocery, variety, and hardware store parking lots full, or nearly so, and the vehicle lines wrapped around the building at drive-up restaurants and coffee shops. These are strange and unexpected times indeed. Who would have thought that magistrates would forbid gatherings of 50 or more, 25 or more, 10 or more, upon penalty of citation or worse, and that this ban on gathering would override or temporally suspend the rights of those with religious conviction to meet in devotion to their God—that the assembly itself would be deemed a danger to the larger society? Who would have thought that those who were not demonstrably ill with some viral or other malady would be told that they need to stay home for fear of contraction of “the unseen enemy,” or for fear of secretly or ignorantly infecting others statistically more vulnerable than themselves, though they themselves showed no signs of carrying anything so severe. Yet here we are.
To read more, click the image/link below.
by Pastor Todd Ruddell
The times in which we live are indeed strange. Had a minister of the Gospel stood in the pulpit in January of 2020, and declared with confidence that by March of that same year the majority of all Churches would be nearly uninhabited on the Lord’s Day, their doors closed to the bulk of their membership and potential visitors, and their worship services canceled what would have been the reaction? The best or most charitable response would be raised eyebrows, and the worst, perhaps cries for his removal for inculcating unnecessary fear. Yet, here we are. In our own town, it is at least odd to see Church parking lots empty on the way to Church on the Lord’s Day, and grocery, variety, and hardware store parking lots full, or nearly so, and the vehicle lines wrapped around the building at drive-up restaurants and coffee shops. These are strange and unexpected times indeed. Who would have thought that magistrates would forbid gatherings of 50 or more, 25 or more, 10 or more, upon penalty of citation or worse, and that this ban on gathering would override or temporally suspend the rights of those with religious conviction to meet in devotion to their God—that the assembly itself would be deemed a danger to the larger society? Who would have thought that those who were not demonstrably ill with some viral or other malady would be told that they need to stay home for fear of contraction of “the unseen enemy,” or for fear of secretly or ignorantly infecting others statistically more vulnerable than themselves, though they themselves showed no signs of carrying anything so severe. Yet here we are.
To read more, click the image/link below.
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