But We've Always Done It That Way

I have been attending Episcopal Churches for about 50 years.  Over those years, I attended, or was assigned to, at least eight different parishes.  Not being one to just sit in the congregation only on Sundays, I always became "involved".  I cannot even begin to put a number on all of the various meetings I have attended.  

While the locations changed, and the subject of the "work" that the committee was undertaking changed, one common thread has been present.  Things would be going along well until... that four lettered word (which actually contains six letters) would come up. You know the one, right?  Yes...C H A N G E

I can't begin to tell you how often I sat with folks attempting to come up with strategies to introduce a change.  Also, the countless ways to try to counter the inevitable reply "I don't think we need to change that, after all "we've always done it that way".  Quite often that would be followed-up with this other ditty..."If it ain't broke, don't fix it" These responses are actually ways to avoid the really hard work that organizations and Churches face.  

We are living in unprecedented times; we have been forced to make changes and adjustments to the way we have been doing things. As a result, some folks have just "shut down" and have stayed away, not for fear of Covid, but because Church isn't being done the right way...the old way...

As I'm writing this, we are in the midst of a blizzard, there will be at least a foot of snow or more when it ends, there will be no Sunday "in person" church service, the Bishop's visit has been rescheduled and a "morning Prayer" service will be available on-line.  I realized that in the "old days" many Episcopal churches built a residence for the Priest that was within walking distance so that church services could go on every day no matter what.  That model, while it had some advantages, did not work well for the later twentieth century, and for that and several other reasons, many parishes either sold or re-purposed those buildings.  One of the consequences of these decisions is that, at least in our Diocese, extreme weather conditions call for churches to cancel in-person worship.   

Where are we and where are we going?  Well, I'm not sure that Church will ever completely return to the old way (the way we ALWAYS did it) but I do hope and pray that folks will come back together to worship and celebrate all of the "Good News" that Jesus has given us as soon as they feel safe doing so.  

AMEN