By Rev. Joe Zarro, Interim Senior Minsiter
Every winter, pastors get together and have our yearly “weather policy” discussion. The traditional thinking was if it was at all remotely possible, even if it’s just a handful of people who walked in the snow, you hold a worship service. Today, there is more of an emphasis on safety and unity – if most people need to stay home, if the roads are dangerous, if the wind is treacherous, cancel service. Then COVID pushed a lot of smaller churches to figure out streaming, so now more churches have a third option – move the entire service online. If the clergy and musician can get to the building, stream them from there, if not, maybe you don’t have music.
Theologically, there is no divine mandate that we gather on Sunday morning and worship. Sunday worship is something that grew organically from the early church, as it was the day of the week Jesus was raised from the dead, and a good day for believers to gather. The Jewish converts were already in the habit of weekly gatherings and worship on the Sabbath, and it is a great way to feed and nurture the community. Unlike the Sabbath, Sunday worship is not one of the Ten Commandments, and while the Bible encourages us to meet together often, and not get out of the habit (Hebrews 10:25), not meeting in inclement weather is making an exception, not breaking a habit. Worship is something that feeds us and should be enjoyable. It is not an obligation, nor is it a chore. If we can meet, we should meet. But holding a worship service is a question of logistics, safety and community, not divine obedience.
We are keeping a close eye on the Nor’easter and will probably make a call on Saturday afternoon about worship service. If we hold it, only come in if it’s safe. If we don’t, use the opportunity to check out another UCC church’s online service. God understands, as does your church family. The Barrington Arts Festival has already been cancelled, and our Loaves and Fishes Team is going to make their own call, so if you’re planning to volunteer, please keep an eye on your email. Stay tuned!
*Note: The featured image in this post has been generated by AI from an original photo owned by BCCUCC. The photograph here has been altered to show a hypothetical stormy day.