Why is church going dangerous during a pandemic?
Church is open, free of charge to any and everybody –
especially the weak, vulnerable and elderly.
Christians welcome strangers and newcomers;
getting to know them and making them feel at home.
Church is communal: fellowshipping and loving each other;
it’s not an individualistic activity.
Church going is not a spectator sport
but a participant activity.
Church is where Christians sing together;
not just the choir but everybody sings God’s praises.
Christians share their food as they eat and drink –
even sometimes from a common cup.
Christians share their lives with each other;
praying personally for and with each other.
We may not greet each other with a holy kiss (1 Thessalonians 5:36),
but we do strive to love one another as Christ has loved us (John 13:34-35).
We may not perfectly fulfil the description above
but we do try and succeed far more often that critics allow.
We succeed often enough to worry the Government
whose restrictions on churches are greater than other organisations.
Government restrictions are not persecution but a compliment
for who else lives in such genuine public community?
