And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10: 24-25
In late August, I was “on” as Video Steaming Engineer for our Sunday 10:00 am service. We have a terrific streaming “rota,” robust enough that each of us is on once every five or six weeks. I very much enjoy doing it, but I do find myself focused on the logistics of managing the camera system instead of being an active participant in the service. It reminds me of my experience in church choir, focused on the logistics, ensuring the next bit of music is ready to go, wondering how my posture and breathing impact vocal production, and so on. Welcome to some aspects of my personality! But in all seriousness, both ministries make it difficult for me to be present for worship.
Back to the late August service. The first part of the worship service, from the prelude up until the sermon, has many different activities, and that’s the most technically challenging part for me. Once we get to the sermon, I breathe a sigh of relief as the rest of the service seems easier to manage. One of the cool things about the video streaming station is that you can view the “next camera” shot and the “live camera” shot side by side. During the sermon, I noticed how cool it was to see Rev. Nick from different perspectives. So, I took the photo above and posted it to my Facebook account with the caption “Current Situation.” I didn’t think too much of it and went about the rest of my day. I was not expecting such a random Facebook post to result in an appreciation lovefest from our remote participants. A half-dozen comments from parishioner friends appeared, posting things like “I watched you from Berkeley, CA this morning!”, “Couldn’t have felt remotely (pun intended) a part of things for the past three years without all of you!” and “Thank you for making Epiphany available to us when we are away.” It was delightful to see.
I am so grateful that Epiphany is my faith community. Grateful that Rev. Nick arrived in January 2021 with the energy, creativity, and wisdom to help us regather in many successful ways: outdoor services, Midweek, and the gradual relaxing of restrictions aligned with our local context while ensuring high-quality remote access to our services. These are all concrete examples of his leadership. Grateful that we are so blessed to engage in conversations about future growth as we continue our journey together.
There has been so much writing and conversation about regathering our faith communities. We read stories about a frustrated rector who tossed out all the streaming equipment (partly because it was too challenging to maintain and partly to get folks back into the pews); we read opinions stating the pandemic has accelerated the issues facing shrinking congregations by ten years; we hear anecdotes about congregations amid a clergy transition struggling to discern their next step, and so on. I am truly grateful that these stories are not our stories; what a blessing to us.
As we enter our stewardship season, I invite us all to reflect on our blessings and to show our gratitude however possible. Thank you.
Dave McSweeney, warden
