Lockdown unlocked

Five years ago this month, the government announced the first national lockdown as the Covid-19 pandemic engulfed the globe. Here, five Elim pastors remember how it impacted church life and consider what lasting changes the lockdowns sparked

 

What immediate changes to church life do you remember? Have any had a lasting impact?

Dawn Robinson: I recorded devotionals and Sunday sermons weekly (accompanied by my three cats who wanted to share the limelight!). I was really nervous to start with but got used to it and was able to reach a lot more people. I also kept in regular touch with vulnerable people and those on their own, kept the food bank running and delivered shopping to people in need. We still record sermons and put them on YouTube and people have come to church because they’ve watched them.

Ross McBride: Pre-pandemic we livestreamed services but didn’t pay much attention to connecting with anyone watching. The pandemic forced us to consider the quality of our livestream, the equipment we use and the people who operate it. We’ve seen a steady increase in numbers watching our services. This has also led to pastoring some people who never actually step foot in the building.

Steve Harris: Having only been at the church for ten weeks, lockdown was a big change, especially as Caerphilly was locked down very early. We immediately went to pre-recorded services each Sunday and also posted daily Facebook videos – 260 days in a row! It helped us think about the way we do church and has meant we continue to include a lot more people in our Sunday services rather than them always being pastor/leader-led. We now livestream our services to Facebook and YouTube.

We all remember the scramble to get online in those first few weeks! Tell us more about what you did then, and the things you’re still doing now.

Jason Beynon: Through lockdown we became a TV show. Mike, our elder, researched really well and we invested in the right tech to allow us to stream to multiple places without a big team. We streamed twice on Sundays – which we still do – and most weekdays. We’re often encouraged by those who watch online contacting us, but interestingly many have chosen to stay as online participants.

David Redbond: We went fully online during lockdown with both recorded and live services, mid-week online Bible study groups and prayer gatherings. As a result, we created an online church programme geared towards those who are not yet part of a church community.

Ross McBride: We recorded services on Monday nights for the following Sunday. I recorded the sermon then the worship leader came in with no band and recorded their worship set. We did this in church because I felt it might help people at home to see us on the stage and give them some semblance of normality. We also published daily devotionals online. We still livestream every Sunday morning and special Sunday night events.

Did the pandemic cause any long-term changes to attendance or outreach?

Jason Beynon: Coming out of Covid, we wondered where we were going to put all our new online watchers. Then we realised many were enjoying the variety of so many different fellowships and never physically attended. Our in-person attendance dipped, but we are now, praise God, growing again – mainly due to some deliberate decisions regarding community work.

Ross McBride: Numbers are mostly back to what they were pre-pandemic but frequency has changed. Some who never missed a Sunday in the past could now come every other week or every few weeks. Also, the pandemic made us look out into the community in a greater way. When we had to step away from large events, little did we know the Lord would use this to help us understand that our outreach should have always been about connection and never about how many turned up. We had great joy through lockdown supplying three-course meals and rechargeable hot bottles to pensioners, delivering movie packs for families, blessing homes with buns and Christmas treats, running a travelling Santa’s grotto, helping homes with fuel bills and many other initiatives. These outreaches or gospel touches were smaller in scale and numbers but we’ve learned the valuable lesson of connection, conversation and conversion being the goal.

Dawn Robinson: We had to do two Sunday services when we were able to meet because of social distancing. The cleaning was hard work! We’re now back to one, although we gained new members after the pandemic.

David Redbond: Attendance has remained at pre-Covid levels but we’ve had a large increase in our online connections.

What’s one lasting memory of church life during lockdown?

Steve Harris: It was fun, but a bit frustrating. The main frustration was we were unable to do as much outreach as we wished.

Dawn Robinson: I had time to reflect, refresh and refuel. I really enjoyed the time to study and hear from God.

Jason Beynon: The strain of me and my wife trying to run services while our worship group recorded parts for Mike to put together: the end product was a blessing but the time invested into it was quite a production line!

David Redbond: The speed in which we as a church group adapted to meet the challenge of lockdown and the lessons learned from it. Also, providing pastoral support and ensuring everyone in the church family was connected with and helped during a challenging period.

Ross McBride: About one month into the first lockdown we recorded and broadcast our Good Friday communion service. One of our worship leaders led the song ‘Is He Worthy?’ Towards the end there’s a triumphant shout of “HE IS!” and one of our creative people edited together videos of church people and families saying this as part of the song. It was a powerful moment where our church family were saying that even though we were apart in body we were together in spirit, declaring the worthiness of Christ. We got a comment on Facebook from the song’s writer Andrew Peterson!

What’s one lesson your church has learned from the pandemic?

Jason Beynon: We will never again take for granted the freedom we are afforded of meeting and worshipping together, or play down the importance of our support for each other.

David Redbond: It’s been awareness of the possibilities of an online presence; how it creates enormous opportunities to engage with people who aren’t part of church life.

Ross McBride: It’s that we upgraded all our video and sound equipment and our people spent time working on AV to produce good-quality picture and sound. Now, years later, we have a fantastic livestream and people running it who feel called for that purpose.

Covid: calamity or opportunity for your church?

Steve Harris: It was a calamity for some, but for our church it was an opportunity. We’ve tried to make the most of that and continue to move forward.

Dawn Robinson: Covid was positive for us as it got us out of our comfort zone and re-focused us on what God wanted us to do.

Jason Beynon: If I was answering this in early 2023 I’d have said it was a calamity. But it was this sense of calamity plus a moment at ELS that caused us to make intentional decisions for our future journey and growth. We created 12 ministry leads, which led to us investing in a community worker who has transformed our outlook.

David Redbond: Overall the pandemic was an opportunity for growth and expansion. It enabled us to connect with a whole group of people we wouldn’t have engaged with had lockdown not occurred.

Ross McBride: It was a calamity in that it caused division – over restrictions and vaccines – which was a hard tension to manage as a pastor. It was also devastating because of those who passed away. It was hard to officiate at burials where you were only allowed ten minutes, couldn’t sing and family and friends had to be distanced. But it was also an opportunity to see if our pastoral care systems would work, and many did.

 

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.