Discovering a Different Church

Church is different. Today, we had our first service after lockdown. Numbers were limited, to comply with social distancing regulations, we all wore masks, and there was no singing – a real sadness for a multiracial, urban, charismatic and Baptist, congregation, used to singing their heads off on Sunday mornings, in praise to our King! 

But it was also a different church, in terms of people: smaller (30+ instead of the usual 100+), younger, with a few couples, but no families. And the ethnic mix was changed as well. Most of our elderly and our families are African or Caribbean in background, and they either couldn’t come, for health reasons, or were nervous about returning, in view of the increased vulnerability among BAME communities. Instead, the South American contingent was therefore relatively more represented. There were also consequently more fringe people and new people, as proportions of the congregation. It’s like preaching to a completely new church. 

This may, of course, not last. It was only the first service back in the building. Interest could either grow or decline. Plus, government restrictions on social gatherings could be re-imposed, and limit our ability to meet. But, as it is, it feels like a different church. We livestreamed the service via the same Facebook channel we did with the pre-recorded and edited services over the last few months. This enabled us to be seen by those who were unable to be physically present. 

As I’ve heard some commentators from the US note, the next phase in Corona-church may well be a twin-speed ‘hybrid church’, a mix of physical and virtual, developing ways to minister to both those returning to the church building, and those physically distant, but virtually plugged-in. In addition, however, there is a third group, especially for multi-generational churches like ours. These are the people who, for whatever reason, found it hard to connect via the internet, but who also do not feel safe to return to the building. 

Besides the gathered and dispersed ecclesial spectrum, the physical and virtual parts of the church, therefore, we find the ‘residual’ church (I don’t actually like this term, because it suggests they are left-over, unimportant, i.e. a residue; but it rhymes with the other two terms!). To serve these three constituencies, we need not a hybrid, but a ‘tribrid church’! 

Borrowing belatedly from what I saw at a local older person’s centre, I am therefore now in process of setting up a phone-based small group, using conference calling. Small groups will continue to be crucial for the church. Even as we return to physical services in our building, some will not, cannot, join us. Many of these never did participate in small groups. These were set up in a way that, unconsciously, excluded single parents, shift workers, health workers. Ironically, Covid has enabled us to construct a new way of doing small groups, often identified as key to spiritual formation and discipleship, for people who could never previously participate. Spiritual renewal through crisis.