I have a feeling that it is going to be a while until we return to a steady, comfortable rhythm of worship. The kind of worship where you know what to expect, and where little changes from week to week or year to year. Whether you love ritual and tradition or not, when the patterns of a worship service are embedded in your bones, and you know with confidence what will happen next, you can relax into a much more spiritual experience. Think about how our online services felt to you back at the end of March. I would bet that you experience them differently now that they seem somewhat normal. And though they cannot compare to the in-person worship you know and love, I would hope that if you have continued to tune in week to week, the experience has become more meaningful to you in some manner.
That is all about to change, though. Starting on August 30th, our Sunday morning worship experience is going to go through another change. Like many congregations around the country, we will begin having drive-in outdoor worship services where we can gather in person, sing at a distance, and share in communion. We plan on having this be our Sunday morning practice, rain or shine, through at least the end of September. For now, we will be taking a break from Wednesday night services. Due to the nature of the pandemic, it is difficult to say what form our worship will take once the temperatures begin to drop.
The outdoor service, which will be at 9:30am, will take place in the parking lot. There will be enough space beside each vehicle so that you can bring lawn chairs and sit next to your car if you prefer. We will have a short-range FM broadcast so that you can hear the service through your car stereo or a portable radio.
I should mention that for safety reasons our Mulford Road entrance will be closed during these services. When you arrive, you will want to enter via the Featherstone Road entrance. At the end, you can leave either the same way you entered or through the adjoining OSF parking lot. Ushers will guide you to where you need to go. To complete the St. Mark experience, as you drive away there will even be some familiar faces handing out bags of donut holes to each car.
If you are away or unable to go out in public, the service will be live streamed to our YouTube channel. Later in the day it will be available for you to watch again and again, just like our other worship videos.
I am so eager to be able to worship in person with you all again! As I have said before, the council’s primary goal continues to be the safety of our members and guests. We have worked hard to make sure our new outdoor worship will indeed be a safe and meaningful experience for you all. We had originally planned on starting this practice on Rally Sunday, but we feel confident that we can begin even earlier. If it proves popular, a second service time may be added, so please continue to read the Memos and check the app to be as up to date as possible. I cannot wait to see you on August 30th!
Peace, Pastor Chad McKenna
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