You Cannot Go Home Again

There's a lot of angst about places of worship opening up for group in-person worship. Is it too soon?  Should it have already happened? What if the faithful get out of the church "habit?"

Here's my two cents, as a lay person of the Christian faith:  we believe in a beneficial and merciful Christ. 

One who has told us, in no uncertain terms, that whenever two of more are gathered together in His Name that He will be among us. 

Whether that gathering is together physically, or within a virtual world, we are still gathered together.  

We will never go back, entirely, to the way we were. 

"You can't go home again" will apply to us all, even to coming home again to our home churches.  We may take years for all to feel comfortable with a common cup again, if ever. 

The secular authorities may say that they want to restart things sooner than we are comfortable with. 

We may have congregants who want to reopen sooner than the rest are comfortable with. 

There will be those who consider that, since they are not getting the return they want, that they no longer will support their parishes. 

They will want to "go home again," and really will not be able to. Too much in the world has changed. 

As Episcopalians we have learned that change happens, and sometimes what we were sure was immutable is aught but shifting sand. 

At one point we were sure that there would be no reconciliation between different branches of Christianity.  Now we are in full communion with several of those branches.  

The idea that women should not hold any responsible position, yet now we have women as deacons, priests, bishops, and even as Presiding Bishop. 

That our gay brethren were anathema, yet now we recognize them as children of Christ, to be afforded love and dignity, without reservation. 

I don't know what the future liturgical or worship landscape will look like for Episcopalians. 

All I do know is that there will be an Episcopalian-flavored landscape. And that Christ will be present.