“All together in one place” (Acts 2:1)
The spirit of excitement
“How wonderful, we can meet again soon!” That was my immediate, internal, response to the State President’s address on Tuesday. After all, it is Pentecost on Sunday on 31 May. We celebrate how the believers were in one place together when the Spirit moved like a mighty wind. Meeting together is a fundamental part of our identity.
The Spirit of discernment
It didn’t take long for my excitement to dissipate. Even as I mulled over ways to reshape worship services for as many groups of 50 as possible the “still small voice” was reminding me “When DMC made the decision to suspend worship before the official commencement of Lockdown did you not remind everyone of the Methodist rules ‘do no harm’, ‘do all the good you can’, ‘stay in love with God’ (here). With this in mind I asked our “Exec” to meet via “Zoom” on Wednesday night and posed three questions:
Questions to ponder
1. How does DMC determine when we are able to diligently meet all government regulations? (In what way can we ensure an “audit” in this regard?)
2. How do we determine when it is ethically and morally responsible to commence gathering together? (Just because it may soon be our possible, in terms of official regulations, doesn’t mean that it is the right thing for us to do in our context.)
3. How do we respond in a way that does not compromise our witness as a people called to sacrificial love and service? (Within a few minutes of the President’s Address some were asking questions like, “why can the Church gather but I cannot visit my family?” Others were expressing great concern over the health risk. It is well known that in some places church gatherings have been “hotspots” for the spread of the virus. Although we didn’t have access to it at when we met, Rev Dr Peter Storey’s [1] article makes this point powerfully. He imagines “the desperately poor family without access to food, the faithful worker no longer in employment, the small business person who has lost everything and the heroic health workers risking their lives” asking “What was the point? [of the sacrifice of Lockdown] … when houses of worship reopen before their eyes, virtually guaranteeing a spike in infections”.
Choosing life
The Exec is unanimous in our thinking[2]. We are in no rush to organise public gatherings. Nor are we in a “race” to open our doors to services before other churches. We will proceed slowly and methodically (we are “Methodists” after all). We will ask Health Professionals in our congregation to guide us in our decisions, help us in our preparations and to further educate us. Also, thankfully, as part of the Methodist Connexion, we are not left to our own devices. We will in due course receive guidance and instructions from the Methodist Connexional Office and the Office of the Bishop of the Cape of Good Hope Synod. We will faithfully adhere to these instructions. In this time period we will also do our best to gauge how people are thinking and feeling within the family of DMC.
The Spirit nurtures new life.
Perhaps, like me, you were also excited by the possibility of meeting soon. I’m sure, however, that in light of the above, you understand why we need to continue a little longer in this season of waiting. Pentecost also teaches us that, in our waiting, the Spirit is powerfully at work nurturing new life. (If you haven’t done so please listen to Rev David Newton’s midweek reflection here). We wait on God in prayer. We “wait” on those who are hurting, hungry and hopeless.
The great witness of Pentecost was more powerful than the spectacle of folk passionately praising God in the mother tongues of those nearby. The Spirit created a community that shared generously and cared compassionately. So much so that God added daily to their number those who were being saved (Acts 2:43-47 ).
If you are in need (or if you know someone who is), whatever that need maybe, a reminder of the following contact details:
Sean Manse Telephone: 021 976 4758
Sean Email: mcguigan@durbmeth.org.za
Vuyelwa Email: Vuyelwa@durbmeth.org.za
Counselling & Care Centre Cell Number: 082 6456 683.
God Bless,
Sean.
[1] https://m.news24.com/Columnists/GuestColumn/reverend-peter-storey-allowing-public-worship-ill-advised-and-dangerous-20200528-2
[2] We were appreciative of this article that aided are thinking https://www.flumc.org/files/fileslibrary/covid19+related/why_reopening_a_church_is_different-rev_alex_shanks-5-18-2020.pdf