Dear Kairos community,
After much prayer and discernment, we have decided to cancel all church related activities indefinitely. This includes our communal worship service at Kairos for this Sunday, March 15th. Below is an important explanation of our discernment and an outline of our plan moving forward as we continue to encourage one another daily to follow in the way of Jesus.
This was a difficult decision to make. At a time when we are being asked to stop all non-essential gatherings, we believe strongly that communal worship is essential. As the news continues to disorient us, we claim it is through a posture of worship that we will be open to the Lord’s reorientation.
But we are still choosing to cancel because we feel it is the best way to trust God and love our neighbor well. We do not make this decision out of fear. In fact, this decision is an attempt to stand against the fear-driven choice of self-righteousness and superstition. It is based in our strong belief that God is always with us and always calling us to be the Church by living lives of worship. In the end, we are praying for COVID-19 to stop spreading and to be contained, and we believe we are living into the hope of that petition by choosing not to gather.
That said, I confess I still have doubts about what is faithful. I truly do not know if we are making the right decision. The tension I feel as a pastor is that the best way to love our neighbor is to not gather, yet in this time of great uncertainty, the most important pastoral advice I can give you is to set aside time to worship. Which is why, as I have prayed through my feelings, it has become clear my fears are not around what will happen if we do not gather together to worship but what will happen if, without Sunday service, we do not worship at all.
The shorter Westminster Catechism begins with the question “What is the chief end of man? Answer: To glorify God and enjoy him forever.” No matter where we find ourselves, we are most alive, most human when we respond to the grace of Jesus Christ and submit to worshiping Him as Lord of our life.
Therefore, friends, this is my invitation and my hope. In being denied the chance to gather together to worship God as we normally would, we claim the necessity of worship in our life. In a season when the hallmark of our culture (the ability to choose what we want to do) has been taken away from us, my ardent prayer is that we remember, maybe for the first time, that in Jesus the very thing we always need is the very thing that is always available to us. We can choose to glorify and enjoy God.
In this spirit, for each Sunday we are physically unable to gather together, we will be offering you resources to do that individually, with your family, or a small group of neighbors.
- On Sunday morning, you will receive an email formatted to guide you through a worship service. You are free to engage it at any time, but in the spirit of togetherness, we will suggest 10:33 (still got to keep with Kairos time, right?).
- Included in the email will be a Call to Worship, guided prayer, instructions for how to worship by giving, a meditation on what was/is our scripture, and a final benediction.
- In addition, later today, we will be sending parents a “Kairos Kids at Home” email so that you and your children can share this week’s Bible story and related activities together.
The virus may keep us from gathering, but we remain steadfast that it will not keep us from being a community with and for one another. Out of this desire:
- Our community will still compensate everyone who works and cares for our church community, including childcare workers and musicians.
- We hope you will prioritize checking in on people. Let us use this season to creatively love one another well.
- If you get sick, please let someone on staff know. We still want to provide prayerful and logistical support to anyone who may need it.
- We are working on providing a short daily devotion that we will send out as long as we are kept from gathering together.
Finally, let me close with this. I believe the first word of the Christian life is “Do not be afraid.” But not fearing does not mean denying reality. It does not mean feeling like we cannot or should not admit we are struggling or need help. Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress two days ago that “Bottom line, it is going to get worse.” Things are not ok. This is going to be hard. But friends, what it means to not fear is to know we are not alone. You are not alone. We do not fear, because we believe we know the end of the story. Therefore, if you begin to feel overwhelmed by a different narrative, I speak for the pastoral staff and the Leadership Team when I say we are ready to stand in the gap. Together, we will “hope against hope” remembering and proclaiming that our God is who He promised when He said “Surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Grace and peace,
Drew