Virtual Worship Services Bring Mixed Blessings
By Deborah Peaks Coleman, Contributing Writer
The last time that I was physically inside a church was on Sunday, March 15, 2020. On that day, Payne Memorial AME Church in Baltimore, Maryland, presented our annual Women’s Day. We left that wonderful service inspired, fortified, and ready for the upcoming week, not realizing that the global pandemic would prevent us from returning to our house of worship indefinitely. Since that time, we have embraced the reality that the church is a building and worship can surely occur in other places that we deem sacred.
To ensure the safety of its congregants, Payne Memorial—like households of faith throughout the world—swiftly transitioned from in-person to virtual worship. I am grateful to be safe and well while enjoying virtual worship each week. It is an inexplicable joy to worship virtually, whether by teleconference, video conference, or social media platforms. It’s so easy and inviting. There is no need to get dressed up, be subjected to the discomfort of smelling all the different fragrances of women’s perfume or men’s cologne, or look for a parking space. The best aspect is being able to engage in multiple services on any given Sunday.
Since the dreadful pandemic turned our lives upside down, many have been motivated to pray more purposefully. A group of my amazing sister-friends and I created a prayer circle shortly after we were ordered to safely stay-at-home to avoid contracting the coronavirus. We gather via teleconference for early evening prayer every Saturday; and after our prayer, we excitedly talk about where we will worship the next day. We have lists of churches, encompassing numerous denominations that we now frequent as we practice social distancing and quarantine living. We count it a blessing to attend as many as four virtual worship services on Sunday. With living in different geographic areas of the United States, we are grateful to be in virtual worship together.
Yet, we have mixed feelings about the virtual worship experience. We miss the fellowship of being with our church families. We also wonder if we are expending too much of our energy, time, and resources at places of worship other than our home church.
Some of the circle members say that it would seem prudent for faith leaders to react to the pandemic with innovation, creativity, and intensity to engage its members virtually, doing the most to keep them connected. There are endless possibilities for worship via technology. Prayerfully, when the pandemic is over, traditional services will not be shattered by members opting to continue virtual worship versus returning to their home church. Just as the business world, arts community, educational arena, and others are re-inventing how to best serve their constituents and key stakeholders, pastors and ministry leaders must shift and act now to re-imagine worship as they know it.
Deborah Peaks Coleman is a member of Payne Memorial AME Church in Baltimore, Maryland, where she is the president of the Women’s Guild and a member of the Adoration and Praise Scholarship Ministry.
