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As an introvert I gravitate toward private as opposed to corporate worship. I can commune with God all by myself, preferably alone in a quiet place. I have gone for long periods of time without attending church at various stages of my life, and it was always ok with me. I didn’t think being forced to stay away from church services during the pandemic would bother me, but it does. In part this is because Ed and I were fairly new to our church and had just become members when the pandemic hit. We were getting to know people and looking for things we could do. Sadly, we have discovered that names were insufficiently cemented into our memories, and I fear that we will be in the awkward position of getting to know people all over again. We watch pre-recorded church services on Sunday. Our pastor still gives wonderful sermons, one of the reasons I was attracted to that church in the first place. He does the liturgy as best he can, but it feels kind of silly saying responses and prayers aloud with no one else present. It’s not the same as participating as part of a congregation. And I really miss the wonderful piano music from our music director. He plays a couple of songs during the taped service but it’s nothing like the music in a live service. And I miss singing with a congregation. There is a way in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts in a church service. I’m not sure I really understood that before the pandemic. I have tried to be faithful to participate in the limited activities available at my church, mostly on zoom. It’s a very different way to do a class or discussion group. In some ways it’s kind of nice, not the least of which is that there is better attendance at evening events. I wonder how we will phase back into normal church life and if we will always incorporate virtual events. I hope we can move back to something more normal, but hopefully in a thoughtful way, incorporating some of the things we’ve learned. --Terese
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January 2022
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