Well, this morning I sent an email to my Oasis list reporting that Athens was under a Level 3 state of emergency caused by black ice on the roads and a possibilty of more snow cover by the evening. Right now it is 3:30 pm, the roads are clear, and there is no snow in sight. I just went out to the store (those who know me know that I can't sit still in one house for more than 4 or 5 hours) and the highways were in great shape. This is good news so far. It means we will get to drive down to Middleport in the morning and worship with our friends and family (those who are also brave... err crazy, enough to battle the elements). So far so good.
However, contemplating a Sunday gathering cancellation is a thought-provoking issue. In the email I sent this morning I wrote the following words...
What Will We Do If We Are Unable To Gather On Sunday?
If you think about it, that is what I have been asking you... nearly every week. In fact, you may be getting tired of me reminding you of what it means to simply be the church without having to go to a big Sunday gathering. Obviously we love those gatherings, but our home church meetings and simple ways of being the church in our various neighborhoods and communities is the nutrition of the Christian life. Are you healthy? If so, not meeting on Sunday will not phase you one bit.
Practically speaking, you may have questions like... What about our study? Will we still continue as normal with the Wisdom Books and Psalms? Will Amy be leading worship still? What about my offering and my tithe? What about the children's teachers' schedule?
The answers are simple. Yes, we will not skip our scheduled study, therefore we will still study Psalms and worship when we are together again. Yes, Amy will still lead worship when we meet again. As for your offering and tithe, you can either give it at your house church meeting or just add it to your regular giving next Sunday. The children's teaching schedule will just pick up as normal the following week.
All in all it really will not affect us much. The Kingdom of God still marches on whether the church meets on Sunday or not. And the church is still the church whether it meets on Sunday or not. Imagine it. Imagine if every week for six months were cancelled. What would we do? How would we function? Kind of an interesting thought to ponder, huh?
Looks good for tomorrow. No reason to cancel. It might just be a little cold... or very cold rather. But that won't keep us away!
Posted by: chris | January 22, 2005 at 08:10 PM