I Miss Church
Posted on Feb 24, 2022 by Shari Van Baale
My family has not been to church in almost two years. It is not because we don’t believe in God, or had a falling out with leadership, or that we don’t like our church anymore, but because of COVID.
Before COVID, we were not casual churchgoers. We attended every week, unless someone was sick or the weather forced us to stay home. My daughter was baptized there, and my kids attended the children’s church every week when they were in elementary school. My daughter was active in their youth group, attending almost every week. She even made sure her dance classes didn’t conflict with youth group meetings.
We still watch the service each week online, as we have since March 2020, but it is not the same as worshipping in a room full of other believers. The four of us sit down together with our coffee and hot chocolate every Sunday, sing to the music, and follow along in our worship notes on our phones during the message.
I used to volunteer twice a month teaching the preschoolers. I am not a teacher, but it allowed me to interact with little ones, even though my kids were then in middle school and high school.
Our church has moved into a building that we have never set foot inside. They still meet there every Sunday for worship and many other events throughout the week. They are still actively serving the community. Most of this is done in close proximity of one another without masks. So we remain at home, hearing about all of the great things they are doing but not able to participate for now.
We are hopeful when this is all over … if this is all over … to return. But for now I am very skeptical as to when that will be. We may never get back to normal. But I am confident we will be back in church someday. Granted, my kids may be in college and out of the house by then!
Shari Van Baale
Communications Coordinator