Taken from the September 2020 issue of Castle ViewWhen the Methodist Church decided to close it’s doors in March 2020, there were more questions than answers. Over the weeks it became apparent that this was not going to be a temporary thing and that the congregation would need an alternative way of meeting and worshipping until they could safely meet in-person again. Many churches got in early and were already set up to live-stream services on YouTube, Zoom, Facebook, or on the church’s own website, providing an at-home offering connecting watchers spiritually through their WiFi router. Castle Street joined the online worship streaming with a short half hour service every week, reading together the Methodist Service Sheet available on the Methodist website. These short acts of worship include two hymns, a reading, a reflection, and time for prayer. One of the greatest aspects of these online services is not just having structured worship; but the coming together of people from different churches in the circuit to sing, pray, and socialise. Meeting new people to share the faith with and to get to know is fellowship in a very pure form, and hopefully this will harbour new connections between circuit churches long after Covid restrictions are lifted. The intention is for the online worship broadcasts to continue as long as necessary, even after the doors to the physical church are reopened and people feel safe to gather again.
You can find this full article and more in the September issue of Castle View – available now.
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