February 16 2025 - Is church necessary?



On Sunday February 16, Ottawa experienced "Snowmageddon". This is one of those winter storms that threatens to dump record-breaking amounts of snow on the city, with blowing winds that cause white outs on the roads, and general chaos for public transit and all snow-clearing crews.  The worst of Snowmageddon is not the snow itself but the anticipation. For days prior there are weather alerts, then weather warnings, then severe weather warnings. The question on everyone's minds is: Do we cancel?

It's a tough call for many congregations. We don't sell tickets or take reservations, so it is hard to get in touch with everyone who might try to worship at the church on Sunday morning. Heaven forbid someone would try to come to church that morning and find a "church closed" sign on the door! On the other hand, the worship service requires many volunteers who might feel they have to attend, even if they aren't the best drivers to be out on the roads in a blizzard.  

The church where I am preaching did decide to cancel the service. One of the members copied us on a notice he received from his city counsellor, advising people that travel would be hazardous on Sunday morning and all "unnecessary" travel should be avoided. That clinched it. They clearly identified church attendance as being unnecessary, if it was a question of safety. Some churches had online options - either Zoom gatherings, or a skeleton crew showing up at the church to livestream worship. Other churches braved the storm and still held worship, though numbers were reduced. In one Facebook post, someone praised the faithful members who drove across the city to get to church, disregarding all the alerts and warnings about being out on the roads. Which begs the question ...

Is church attendance "necessary" travel? What does it mean that we would put our own safety and the safety of others at risk simply to gather for an hour and do basically what we do every week? Isn't it possible for people to worship in the safety of their own homes, and have the same impact?

As someone wrote me: "Thank God you cancelled the service. It was the answer to my prayer." That's probably the most heartfelt words I have heard about worship in a long time!


 

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