What is your church doing for services during the COVID-19 outbreak?

[Szdfan]

We will be doing what we always do - meeting each Sun AM via conference call. Our fellowship of about 60 people (including some other MennoNet members) is made up of five extended families and a number of individuals living in three quasi-communal settings in PA, WI and MN.

So you’ve already been meeting I’m a virtual church? Can you share about your experiences so far?

[Wade]

I'm encouraged by this thread.

What I am seeing locally is so many people motivated by fear, including some Christians. I am grateful it seems possibly all posting on here are motivated by love. Thank you.

[Szdfan]

I'm encouraged by this thread.

What I am seeing locally is so many people motivated by fear, including some Christians. I am grateful it seems possibly all posting on here are motivated by love. Thank you.

Fear in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It can spur us into action when facing a thread. Fear tells us to run away from the Sabre-toothed tiger. Fear helps us take the right actions and to sequester ourselves in the face of a pandemic.

But fear can also cause to panic and make the wrong decisions. Buying all the toilet paper is the wrong decision.

What I’m enjoying in this thread is the spirit of creativity and adaptability — people are finding ways to be the church even if they can’t be physically together.

[RZehr]

Fear in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It can spur us into action when facing a thread.

It hasn’t proven to be true in the Haiti/CAM case. Not much action so far, but maybe the wrong people have been facing that thread.

[Szdfan]

Fear in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It can spur us into action when facing a thread.

It hasn’t proven to be true in the Haiti/CAM case. Not much action so far, but maybe the wrong people have been facing that thread.

Groan...threaT...threaT...threaT

[barnhart]

So you’ve already been meeting I’m a virtual church? Can you share about your experiences so far?

This was our first service on-line, but it wasn't virtual, it was real church. We listened to a message together and then there was an hour and half testimony and prayer time afterward with an app. In some ways it was more powerful than a regular service since the missionaries in other countries could join in as well.

[ohio jones]

Fear in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. It can spur us into action when facing a thread.

It hasn’t proven to be true in the Haiti/CAM case. Not much action so far, but maybe the wrong people have been facing that thread.

Groan...threaT...threaT...threaT

Yes, but also apparently the right people haven't been facing our threaD(s) on the subject.

[RZehr]

Matthew 18:20 (KJV)
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

With Germany now banning all public gatherings down to a maximum of two, this verse came to mind.

[Bootstrap]

So you’ve already been meeting I’m a virtual church? Can you share about your experiences so far?

This was our first service on-line, but it wasn't virtual, it was real church. We listened to a message together and then there was an hour and half testimony and prayer time afterward with an app. In some ways it was more powerful than a regular service since the missionaries in other countries could join in as well.

Our service had that same feel, allowing very personal sharing, including some people we had not seen for a long time, with plenty of time for prayer and Scriptural teaching. We also saw a few new people. We are considering ways we might continue to use Zoom even after we start meeting again physically.

Missionary societies and Bible translation societies often make extensive use of Zoom and similar technologies, including prayer times. I have been part of a daily prayer time on Zoom that includes people from a few countries for about 6 months now, and it is an important part of my life.

[Fidelio]

Indiana Amish Leaders Meet, Will Continue Church; Bishop: “Don’t let fear rule you”
https://amishamerica.com/indiana-amish- ... aincontent

On church:

Church is a different manner for now. On Sunday, the district had church as usual. There are 26 families in the district. They meet in each other’s homes for church, Kauffman explained.

“We’re not inviting other districts,” he said. “We’re encouraging people who are sick to stay home.”

Kauffman said the Amish districts will respect what the government mandates and each district will decide what they want to do, “but the church is the most important thing.”

Why are they not suspending services?

Kauffman said it’s important to go to church to “hear God’s word, be encouraged and be led in the right direction.” It’s also good to encourage younger people, he added. “It’s a body of Christ.”

…

Kauffman said that it’s in times like these that the church needs to be together more than ever. “The church is about getting together and God’s word.”

Finally, the bishop cautions against fear:

As for himself, Kauffman said, “I’m not afraid of the coronavirus.” He knows he can get it and possibly die from it. “But it’s God’s way of taking me out of it and I’m not scared at all,” he said.

What the bishop, who was making cabinets in his workshop Saturday, said he is concerned about is the world’s response to the virus — the fear.

“Stay calm and if one of us dies from it, it’s God’s plan,” he said. “It’s the trying of our faith to see what we’re really made of.”

A good point in that last statement, “Stay calm and if one of us dies from it, it’s God’s plan,” he said. “It’s the trying of our faith to see what we’re really made of.” However, the Amish are far more isolated than the typical church community of a Mennonet member (my assumption), so they are not near as likely to infect adjacent communities.