To Hear and to Feel-Virtual Worshiping

The limitations of shelter-in-place orders have forced churches to explore other options of keeping in contact with their congregations for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, which seems needed now more than usual given the current situation.

“Anxiety is mitigated through worship. Worship is important. People are the church, and God is there when we worship,” said the Rev. Elbrist Mason of St. James United Methodist Church in Amory.

St. James is using social media platforms for reaching out as well as looking into using a low-power FM transmitter for radio broadcasts.

Larger churches have already been webcasting services for years to benefit shut-ins and others unable to attend.

Meadowood Baptist Church of Amory registered more than 1,500 hits from viewers from six states logging on to its March 22 webcast. Music minister Jason Carson said there was no negative feedback from many replies received.

“We were not livestreaming before this crisis pushed us into it. I learned that more churches were online on March 22 than ever before,” he said.

The church’s leadership team elected to pre-record and upload its webcasts during the week in case an overload of livestreaming on Sundays were to crash the system as more churches launch livestreaming.

First United Methodist Church in Aberdeen is another local church that broadcast its first Live service March 22. .

“We had over 200 watching on Live. We don’t have that many that attend,” said church secretary Marian Partridge.

It was Pastor Mary Hutson’s first opportunity to broadcast visually.

“I was so excited by the  audience response that we will develop other devotional programming as the Lord leads,” she said. “Our first  Live service was individuals rendering musical numbers and myself sharing the Word with an audience we couldn’t see. I’m encouraging our members to do what we all can, and that is to pray. We are also reaching out to homebound friends and others possibly at risk to remind them that we care.”

Danny Avery, interim pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church in Hamilton, was among many pastors broadcasting devotionals from their homes. He offered a positive outlook toward the horizon as everyone contemplates the way forward.

“Times of overwhelming lead to a time of overcoming,” he said. “We have received comments of appreciation from as far away as Hattiesburg from those who watched our Live programming. Others have commented on how much they enjoyed the ladies’ group singing. Our worship leader was concerned about how she looked since we were being viewed but was assured that she looked fine.”

Avery, himself, received inspiration in a similar way to how he is ministering to his congregation.

He is a member of a national group of pastors who participated in a recent conference call with the White House moderated by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson. Avery recalled that the proceedings were put on hold for a couple of minutes.

“President Trump found out what was going on. He came to Pence’s office to get in on the call and gave his appreciation for the prayers and support of the nation’s pastors. Pence and Carson asked us to keep praying and keep checking on people to whom we minister,” Avery said.

While no one is sure when normalcy will be restored, some churches have pledged to move forward in one way or another for Easter services.

First United Methodist Church in Amory, for example, will broadcast services over low-power FM radio Easter Sunday. According to media ministry director Dickie Miller, the radio outreach will be an expansion of the church’s existing livestreaming outreach on television.

“Our goal is for members to be able to come to the church on Easter Sunday to hear the service on their car radios,” he said.

The church has ordered the radio transmitter and will have a portable sheltered stage set up for the equipment.

“The livestreaming capability has been our lifeline. We're reaching more people than we ever thought possible,” Miller said.

The audience in their cars might even want to honk to say, “Amen.”

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