Why I Will Never Again Cancel Worship* (for Weather or Otherwise)
The picture above is from Ash Wednesday 2021 at Munger Place Church; not only did we have worship outside in ice and snow that day, but the Texas power outage meant that many of us weren’t even able to go home and warm up in our comfortable houses!
But you know what? That was one of my favorite worship services of these last 2 pandemic years. (And not because I preached in ski goggles.)
With ice and snow in our forecast, I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of Christian worship, and thought that some of you might be interested in my conclusions and convictions.
Why I Never Again Want to Cancel Worship*
One of my convictions after living through these last 24 months of a worldwide pandemic:
I will never again cancel weekly worship* (due to bad weather or any other reason).
[Note the asterisk, however!]
These last 24 months have convinced me that nothing is more important than the gathering of God’s people to worship the Crucified Lord.
I really mean that, and though I might have said that in February 2020, in February 2022 I know it.
This means that, despite the bad weather in the forecast for Thursday, we will NOT cancel our weekly Thursday 6 PM worship service this week. (And, God forbid, if weather causes problems into Sunday, we won’t cancel services then, either.)
Now, About That Asterisk*
When I say that I never want to cancel “worship,” I need to clarify a bit.
What I mean is, no matter the situation, I firmly believe we should never completely cancel worship; we will have some kind of worship gathering. But, that does not necessarily mean that worship will look like normal. In fact, there are many circumstances that will cause us to change what worship normally looks like.
Here’s what I mean:
Say the roads are unsafe for drivers. Well, I live within walking distance to church; if the roads are bad, I’ll put on my boots and walk. I’ll be at church no matter what.
We’ve told our staff to stay home if they feel unsafe or uncertain for any reason. I trust them and trust them to make wise decisions for themselves. The same goes for our musicians and volunteers, and of course for our childcare workers. (In bad weather, we will certainly cancel childcare.)
But if none of our staff or volunteers is able to make it, guess what? I’ll grab a hymnal and lead the congregation present in singing “Amazing Grace”!
If the power goes out, then I’ll gather folks in the icy parking lot and we’ll have a worship service under the cold sky.
The point: I will personally ensure we will have worship somehow, no matter what.
Note That I Said I Never Want to Cancel “Worship”
I said we will never cancel “worship.” There are many scenarios (bad weather being only one example) when we would certainly cancel groups, classes, events, meetings, etc. And, although tonight I’m thinking primarily about weather, my experience during this pandemic has taught me that it is possible to make weekly worship happen even in difficult and dangerous circumstances. For example, because of the pandemic, at Munger we met outside all winter long last year. When you are committed and creative enough, weekly worship is possible. It wasn’t the easiest—and Lord knows that there are lots of folks who have strongly disagreed with my leadership during this pandemic!—but I’m so glad we worked hard to make it happen.
Why This Matters So Much to Me
I think about the saints, martyrs, and apostles who treasured the gospel and literally gave up their lives to ensure that I would hear it, and I think about that gospel and the amazing message it contains—hope beyond hope, life beyond death—and then I think about my short life and the beautiful responsibility that I have received from the ones who’ve gone before, namely to steward the gospel and ensure that a people yet unborn will hear the Good News, and I think about the underground church in China today, and the literal underground church of the Romans catacombs 2,000 years ago, and the relentless pressure we all face to lose hope and give in to despair, and about how worship is fundamental to our belief that God’s love is stronger than the forces of death, and so I conclude:
Nothing is more important than the gathering of God’s people in joyful, grateful worship around the Crucified Lord.
Nothing.
Make the Best Decisions for Your Household
Many of us can walk to church; many of us cannot. I personally can walk to church, and I’m gonna, come hell or ice water. But as I said above, we’ve encouraged our staff not to come to church if for any reason they feel it’s unsafe to do so. And, I’d say the same to you:
You should NOT come to church if it’s unsafe for you to do so—I trust you to make your own prudential decision about whether you should come or not.
There’s always another Sunday, and if I don’t see you, please know I will not even think twice about it—I’ll know that you’ve made the best decision for your household.
(And by the way, there are lots of churches that don’t have walkable streets around them, and I’m also trusting that those churches—should they make decisions to cancel worship—are also making the best decisions for them. This is about me and my circumstances, not others and their circumstances.)
No Storms Last Forever
I know that my kids—and me!—are hoping for a nice snowfall.
(As long as we don’t lose power! Please God, let us not lose power!)
I’m also hoping that all of you stay safe, and I look forward to seeing all of you at church when both this storm and the pandemic blow over.
Nothing lasts forever, and spring always arrives, right on time.
P.S. Pics From Ash Wednesday 2021
Note the orange ladder on which I am perched as I preach my Ash Wednesday message in the freezing cold.
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return;
Repent, and believe the gospel.
