As lockdown was announced there was a number of the congregation who recognised that the church had something to say in the midst of fear and anxiety that was expressed as the feeling of many in local community. However, what became apparent was that the church had no voice to speak to the local community!
What to say
A group was formed and through prayer and discussion decided that they wanted to speak against fear and speak words of hope. They wanted to present people with Scripture, and suggested two Bible verses: Psalm 46:1 and Hosea 2:15.
How to say it
The building was recognised as the main place of contact with the local community. Various ideas for creating spaces for prayer were voiced, however, due to the need to act quickly simply creating a series of posters was decided upon, encouraging people to seek God.
These posters are highly visible, and several people contacted the church to remark upon them, saying they had been encouraged by them.
There was a desire to create something online. However, the only site actively used by the church was a private Facebook group. It was therefore decided, rather than try and rush something out online, to take a slower route, looking at our strategy and examining a broader picture of what we want online and what we hope to achieve through it. This is a process that is continuing of recreating a new website and launching a public Facebook page.
As part of that launch, the congregation have been asked to submit one minute videos expressing their hope in this time. These have been branded 'L8Hope' videos and form a series released over several weeks.
Reflecting on the process
I was very encouraged to see the congregation looking beyond themselves, wanting to be witnesses of the hope in God that they had found, and the frustration in realising we were mute!
With Easter approaching we see Jesus approaching Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-41). If the crowds don't cry out praise he promises the stones will. Here God promises to give mute things a voice, in order that he might be praised. Jesus weeps over the city, and we should note that praise does not exclude space to grieve. Jesus' coming exposes grief over humankind, and releases praise to God for his coming.
Following Jesus death, his disciples were locked in their own homes in fear. Mute. The Spirit came and gave them new voices and boldness. The Holy Spirit inspires God's people with creativity and boldness to communicate.
As a church, this lockdown has exposed our lack of voice in our local community. Rather than kneejerk reactions to try and shout something, we need to seek the Spirit's creative voice, that we might discover new ways of communicating in languages people understand. How can we exit the building and speak before people? Our voice need to be one that grieves over the fallen state of our humanity, and brings praise to Jesus.
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