The table of Christ is open

Pastor Richard Baker
Trinity United Methodist Church

(10/1) In the movie Field of Dreams, we learned the phrase, "If you build it, they will come." I am the pastor of Trinity UMC in Emmitsburg and Messiah UMC in Taneytown. This pandemic has offered us both challenges and new opportunities for ministry. Like many, I was shocked to see that all churches in Maryland were closed in March of this year. The church for me, like many of you, is a second home. Our Bishop, along with the State of Maryland, gave us specific metrics by which we could reopen. Our churches were blessed to be able to meet those metrics and reopen as soon as it was possible. I was asked by the Journal to detail how we met those metrics.

Both of the churches I serve have older members. Their health was paramount to our concerns. Both churches began holding informal meetings to discuss how we would do that. ZOOM became a tool that we are all now familiar with. First off, we had to address social distancing and the Governor’s requirement to limit attendance to 50 percent. We determined our occupancy allowances from the County Fire Department and began to map out seating. We blocked every other row to allow for this.

When you visit one of our churches, the first person you will meet is one of our Trustees who will take your temperature and ask you to record it in a book. We all enter through one door to allow for this. That way, we can assist the County if they need to do contact tracing. You will be asked to wear a mask, and if you do not have one, we will provide it. You would then be asked to use a hand sanitizer.

From there, you will see footprints marked on the floor at 6-foot intervals, showing the proper distance between people. We had to close off water fountains. We had to close our kitchens. We were not allowed to have social gatherings and even our coffee pots were stored away. What troubles many members was when we were told to store away our Bibles and hymnals. That brought it home to many of us.

We are not currently allowed to sing. As Methodists, that goes against our nature. But if we wished to re-open, we had to follow those guidelines. Currently, we are not allowed to hold Sunday School, and we mourn that our young people have been impacted in such a real way. We try to compensate by having an extended Children’s Moment in worship.

Coming into our sanctuary, the first thing you see is plexiglass shields in front of the pulpits. It allows our speakers to share without having to wear a mask. This enables me, and our laity, to speak in a more natural manner.

Following worship, our cleaning crew comes in and sanitizes the entire building. We set off aerosol bombs that sanitize without needing to wipe down every surface. They still wipe down every pew and common area. Because of our older congregation, we enlisted our HVAC company and found out that we could install UV lights in the duct work, along with enhanced scrubbers, to make sure the air is safe. This light kills the COVID-19 virus, along with mold spore and HIV.

While our churches were closed, we taped every service and posted them online. Since reopening, we use Facebook live to record and share the service in real time. We are currently looking at other streaming options. Our service is displayed on screens in the sanctuary eliminating the need for a bulletin.

Due to the Virus, we have lost some of our social intimacy. We are asked not to hug or shake hands. Fellowship meals are a big part of who we are. Bible studies have been put on hold. We could concentrate on what we have lost, but we choose to see God at work in new and exciting ways.

During our closure, I began to write a daily devotion for church members. People from outside the church who heard about the devotions asked to be included. To my surprise, people from Florida and California contacted me to say they were reading them after someone had forwarded it to them. One member shared that she reads it aloud every day to 6 older folks without computers. Besides that, she now sends it to 17 other folks. If the church had remained open, that may not have occurred.

We have lost several members due to illness, and we had to mourn remotely. Again, this provided an opportunity for members to experience God in a new way. Methodists pride themselves in that laity and clergy are considered equal. We ask the laity to know the word so that in times of trouble they know and share the Word of God.

None of this was easy, and it came with a cost, but the desire to fellowship together drove our conversations and our work. It also gave us a chance to look at how we serve the community and do a course correction. Both churches are involved in feeding their communities. At Trinity, we served an evening meal where all were welcomed. We saw community members join us, not because they were looking for a meal as much as they were looking for fellowship. Due to the virus, we are unable to serve the community inside the building, so we now supply prepared lunches that we serve to cars who come into our parking lot. We also give gift cards to a local grocery store. What was fascinating was when a stranger called to offer us fresh produce one week. She was part of a community garden that was flourishing, and she wanted to share.

We have had increased calls for help, and we have done so faithfully. At our Taneytown church, we are supplying toiletries after finding out that the county could not meet those needs. We have opened a ministry called ‘Messiah Hope’ where we can supply kitchen items, even including microwaves and vacuum cleaners to those in need.

As needs comes to us, we rise to meet those needs. We see each person, no matter what their relationship to the church, as a child of God with the same needs and desires that each of us has. To that end, we have discovered that even with as many safeguards as we have put in place, some are still hesitant to return.

God gave the Israelites specific instructions for how to build the sanctuary. God gave them instructions for how to prepare themselves to enter the sanctuary and then instructions for the proper behavior when they were in God’s house. Like God’s instructions, ours are intended to prepare us to experience God, and that is our hope for every Sunday. God blessed us at Trinity with the ability to accomplish what we did. God has instructed me to share this with as many people as possible so that all of God’s houses can re-open to serve our communities. I am happy to meet with any pastor, regardless of the denomination, and I can and will assist you in re-opening your church. I truly believe that by showing our commitment to God’s people, that more churches can re-open and offer the grace and love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for taking the time to read this and please feel free to join us on any Sunday. We believe the Table of Christ is open and available to all who seek Him.