Longing for a return to church
by Peter Crumpler, Christian Today:
I’m a massive fan of all that churches have been doing to go online during the lockdown.
Some have transformed their Sunday services with presenters, interviews and worship played out on split screens. Others have streamed services, with the congregation linked by Zoom to increase participation.
It’s brilliant to see how much has been achieved and the large numbers of views being recorded.
Let’s not forget the lower-tech solutions either. The Church of England’s free Daily Hope phone line, aimed at people without access to online services, is proving a success.
And I’ve been impressed by the weekly 30-minute act of worship, broadcast simultaneously at 8am each Sunday by all 39 BBC local radio stations covering England, Jersey and Guernsey. The network, that reaches around 6.7 million adults, has produced a wide range of inspiring services from Anglican, Catholic, Salvation Army and other denominations during the lockdown.
But I realise, after yet another Zoom call or YouTube viewing, that the technology – wonderful though it is – is making me yearn increasingly for the real church experience.
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