This Sunday, June 7th, 2020, the Ham Lane Church of Christ in Lodi, CA will have the first in-person worship service since Sunday March 15th, 2020. Our state and local government have given guidelines for reopening our church doors. A few of the safety restrictions in place for what church will look like this Sunday include: Having two services with less than 70 in attendance in each service; seating will maintain 6 feet social distancing (unless sitting with family from the same household); the services will last less than one hour (that means a shorter sermon… did you just “amen” that while reading this?); no passing of communion trays or collection plates; no Kids Praise; no gatherings in the church or foyer (parking lot is okay); and the hardest part for many of us will be no hugging or shaking hands. It is also recommended (although not required) that everyone wears a mask and encouraged (but will never enforce) members age 65+ to remain at home and take advantage of the livestream and online worship services. Sunday is gonna be weird.
However, this Sunday, we will be together in the same room, gathered as the family of God to worship Him together in Spirit and in Truth. We will sing and make music from our hearts to the Lord together. We will still partake of the Lord’s Supper together and will have an opportunity to give back to the Lord just a portion of how much He continues to bless us day by day. You will hear and receive a word from the Lord and I will get to preach to more than just an iPhone camera. We will still love and encourage one another and show kindness and compassion to one another in-person. We will be together in the presence of the Lord. Sunday is gonna be wonderful.
