Dear Kairos Community,
In our last communication concerning how the church was navigating COVID-19, we promised to update you on our community’s plan in early June. What follows contains that plan, but it is also more than that. We believe this framework is our way of responding to the challenges and barriers we face not just with the virus, but also in how we encourage one another in the way of Jesus. This is a vision that seeks to worship our way back to communal worship.
Two kinds of worship
The Heidelberg Catechism famously begins by asking “What is the chief end of man? Answer: To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” We were made to worship God and worshiping God is the place of joy.
In both scripture and throughout church history, worship has been defined in two distinct but mutually affirming ways. The first way is communal worship on the Sabbath. It is a set apart time (Kairos time) where we are invited by God’s grace to return (repent) to a life of faithful worship and through that formal gathering, we are shaped and equipped to be sent out as the Church. The second way of worship is beautifully described in Romans 12:1 when Paul writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.” This is the worship of Monday through Saturday. The kind of worship that Sunday service shapes us to embrace. It is worship as action.
As the Leadership Team and staff have continued to discern how both to encourage one another in the way of Jesus and what a plan might look like to hospitably work our way toward communal worship, we believe there is an opportunity to creatively rethink the Sunday service in the short term. This discernment has led us to believe the faithful next step is to provide the first way of worship by focusing on the second way of worship. In essence, it will be a Sunday worship service centered on active participation, encouraging connection with others, and inviting us to serve in the name of Jesus.
How will this look?
Through the end of July, we will continue to send out an email inviting you to worship on Sunday. However, the time of worship will not follow our “normal” order of service. Instead, we will have one short video that contains a scripture and a very brief set up for how/why we are inviting you to worship-fully respond to the passage.
People are welcome and encouraged to listen to worship music and take communion using the videos we have already created. We will be adding one new song each week to our already lengthy “playlist,” but the bulk of staff’s preparation will go toward creating resources, guides, ideas, and opportunities that allow individuals, families, and small groups to worship by acting in response to God’s mercy.
How does this relate to our plan to return?
We want to provide/implement a phased approach to gathering again. One challenge in this is that people’s comfort level and ability to begin gathering with others varies. I am committed to returning to communal worship as a community, not divided by comfort level. I refuse to offer a better version of worship to one group and a lesser version to another, but this is very difficult if our Sunday worship follows the traditional model.
However, I believe the vision we laid out provides opportunities to encourage one another in the way of Jesus that will be equitable and communal whether engaged alone or with a few others. A worship focused on acts of service is powerful in any context. While at the same time, it opens up places of connection and community for all who participate.
Phase 1 (3 weeks: June 14-July 5th)
Individual or communally coordinated active worship. For example, as an act of worship, we commit to showing gratitude and love to our postal or garbage worker. This could be done individually or on a specific day with other Kairos neighbors.
Phase 2 (3: July 12-July 26)
Individual or outdoor, neighborhood gathered active worship. This phase would be the same format as phase 1 but provide ways for small(er) groups to actually gather and connect as they actively worship.
Phase 3 (Aug 2nd)
- Option 1: community worship outside or in cars at the Kairos building
- Option 2 community worship indoors at Kairos building with specific changes/precautions taken
What would success look like over the next two months?
We can name how Sunday worship encouraged us in the way of Jesus and equipped us to encourage others in the way.
- Sunday worship begins to do what our regular Sunday worship has always done, build connection and community around Jesus
- We can begin to offer tangible ways and reasons to gather in smaller groups as the church
- Staff and Leadership Team gather feedback from the community, so that, if possible, we are fully prepared to return to communal worship in some form or fashion in August
Friends, at Kairos, we believe Sunday worship should be looked forward to and feel necessary. We hope the plan we have outlined not only allows us to approach worship in that way, but that it provides us a road-map and runway for us to return to the way of worshiping together where God has so profoundly shaped us in the past and will, no doubt, do so again.
Grace and peace,
Drew