Pastor’s Corner: A New Question

June 24, 2020

This next month will bring us a question that most of us have rarely asked ourselves, I suspect.

Should I go to worship?

We have asked ourselves ”Will I go to worship?” plenty of times (at least I have). Will I go to worship when the sun is shining and the beach is calling? Will I go to worship when I’m tired and cranky? Will I go to worship when I’m on vacation? Circumstances, obligations, and (let’s face it) whims stimulate the questions and often guide the answers.

COVID-19, however, confronts us with a different question, because now it’s a question of “should.” Will attendance at worship put my health at an unacceptable risk? Will my presence in worship put someone else’s health at risk? Should I be there?

In one potential circumstance, it’s very simple. If you are feeling ill (in any way, not just with COVID-19 symptoms), you should stay home and participate in the online experience of worship. This may be a new approach for many of us. I cannot count the number of days I have sniffled, sneezed, and coughed through a working day in the office. As the saying goes, “the show must go on.”

Not with COVID-19, though. If you feel ill, stay home. In doing so, you protect your friends and the worshipers here at Church of the Holy Cross. We will be grateful.

Should I go to worship?

Most other times, it will be a harder question to answer. The risks to yourself are difficult to assess. The risks to others more so. Until there is a vaccine, we must and will continually reevaluate the situation. Ask the question, and keep asking it:

Should I go to worship?

With aloha,

Pastor Eric

Photo by Eric Anderson.