 |
 |
 |
|
|
||
|
50% of the responses highlighted the online services |
|
30% of the responses highlighted Zoom/use of technology |
|
“Using Facebook live so that we can ‘see’ each other attending and worshipping together and the zoom Bible studies exploring the passage from the Service afterwards has been brilliant.” “Shorter services and later starts with less rush not having to be at church for all the additional time before and after a service. Slower start to the morning making Sunday much more of a day of rest. The chance to explore other ways of church on line.” |
 |
|
|
“The way in which technology has enabled us to remain a church community. The use of online service and Zoom meetings (courses and home groups plus other "whole church" events). Also that this enables those not able to physically attend regularly to join in. Strangely, the need to keep online service relatively short has presented the opportunity for greater focus on the weekly theme and how God is leading the church.” “Church online has still felt very authentic and I enjoyed the relaxed feel of it. Having the people leading it do it from their sofas or kitchens made me connect with them as I sat on my sofa too. Having different people from the church family take part has also made me feel more connected with them. It also gives people the chance to join who would otherwise never enter church.” |
||
 |
Many people have adapted surprisingly well to the new and different ‘on line’ environment. Churches have ‘surprised’ themselves at new opportunities to be outward looking and creative. People have embraced Zoom and on one Sunday, Zoom crashed, supposedly because of the number of people logging in. Many churches report increased numbers of people ‘connecting’ to their online services. Local Church Leader While the online service does not replace and is not as good as being gathered and ‘face to face’, people have been accepting and appreciative. Local Church Leader “Another positive outcome of the lockdown has been the improvements in our environment as traffic has reduced dramatically. With hindsight, will we see this just as a blip – an interruption to business as normal that we are longing to get past? Or might we find ways to tread more lightly on God’s earth? As so many have learned how to meet online, though, we should be looking for opportunities to avoid the greenhouse gas emissions and congestion of physical travel, as well as the costliness in time.” United Reformed Church paper: Ready for the new normal. |
 |
Sunday services will be shorter, more focused and less ‘busy’. The wider level of participation will continue and will ensure that those involved will be more representative of the demographic, age and ethnicity of our congregation. Tools such as Zoom will continue as a way of offering direct contact with others for bible study, prayer and fellowship and online courses. These tools will also ‘extend the reach’ for people who continue to isolate or cannot leave home. |
 |
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25 |
|
|
|
|