Worship in times of COVID

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paradox3 said:
I tried checking out Richard Bott's service in the a.m. and my own minister's service on FB in the p.m. Neither held my attention.

Next week I will try to figure out Zoom and join in that way. I think it might be quite different.
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I am here to testify that it makes all the difference in the world! With Zoom you can see and hear others. Our hosts muted all the participants once the service started but we had "coffee time" beforehand which is our usual practice. It was lovely to see people's faces and hear their voices. Zoom doesn't do a great job with music but it was better than nothing.

A reasonably satisfying worship experience and a nice reminder that my faith community is still there. More meaningful on both counts than I was expecting it to be!
 
My church is doing live streaming today but I missed the email about it and I don't have the technology (haven't signed up for the necessary requirements and not sure I want to. I think it requires being on Facebook.) There are podcast recordings put up later.
 
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Bev at Whitehorse United Church had a very inspiring message this morning. It is still up on their FB page. I don't know if it's accessible through their web page or not. I will probably watch it again.
 
Our church also is uploading worship

i love it. I miss services so many weeks and now I don’t have to

they get better each week as they figure stuff out. This week the music director loaded a track of music and the singers sang there own parts. And he put it together into music. It was great
 
Here, the local UCCan minister recorded some sort of service. I haven't watched it yet. I also noticed that at least one church in Saskatoon recorded a service.
 
Kimmio Laughterlove said:
My church is doing live streaming today but I missed the email about it and I don't have the technology (haven't signed up for the necessary requirements and not sure I want to. I think it requires being on Facebook.) There are podcast recordings put up later.
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Normally, if it is broadcast live on Facebook, you don't need to be signed on Facebook as long as you have a direct link.
Once you get a link like facebook dot com/video?12235sd, you can click on it and you'll get a big "warning" solliciting you to register. But you don't need to. You won't be able to explore the rest of your church's Facebook page without being subscribed, though.

Some parishes use Zoom, which works on your computer, smartphone, or even regular phone. And you don't need any subscription. We had a few members in our church who joined us both via their computer to see us on a full screen, and because their computer has no microphone or camera, they also joined us on their phone to be able to speak.
 
mgagnonlv said:
Normally, if it is broadcast live on Facebook, you don't need to be signed on Facebook as long as you have a direct link.
Once you get a link like facebook dot com/video?12235sd, you can click on it and you'll get a big "warning" solliciting you to register. But you don't need to. You won't be able to explore the rest of your church's Facebook page without being subscribed, though.

Some parishes use Zoom, which works on your computer, smartphone, or even regular phone. And you don't need any subscription. We had a few members in our church who joined us both via their computer to see us on a full screen, and because their computer has no microphone or camera, they also joined us on their phone to be able to speak.
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Thanks!
 
The community centred in the Big Red Church is not gathering on Sunday mornings. We are each and all committed to staying in touch by phone, email or internet. For my part, I sent a short video and a few words for the folks to consider on Sunday morning. Here is the link:

PATRICK'S BLOG | BigRedChurch

www.thebigredchurch127.com www.thebigredchurch127.com
 
I 'attended' 3 services today - I was curious to see how each of them was engaging.

A) The order of service, including all the prayers, sermon, scripture printed and interspersed with youtube video links for the hymns. This week the minister voice recorded (no video) her sermon & one could listen if preferred. She stuck to preaching from the lectionary without much direct commentary on the COVID situation. The prelude was video taped & posted to youtube - which I loved - my friend is the organist and it was wonderful to watch her & listen to the fantastic organ in my former church. Actually - here's a link if you'd like to listen -

B) A live Zoom 'meeting' for church - almost 50 people participating; it had been planned to host from the sanctuary, but yesterday they had an internet problem, so the minister was in her home today instead, pianist in her home for the hymns, some graphics & hymn music was provided in 'shared screen' mode. She always does a very interactive service, so there times of discussion, response to questions etc. The focus today was on Gratitude. It was nice to see everyone connecting prior to the service & people seemed happy. Many are new to Zoom, so there were some challenges with things like muting the mics, turning off cameras etc. but they're catching on. They plan to continue this. I think she also had posted or e-mailed the order of service.

C) Lastly I joined Hillside in Calgary as I often have in recent months. They've modified a bit as they are no longer gathering as a larger staff at the church. Most portions of the service had been pre-recorded (they do have some VERY fine musicians) and then woven together for fb live and youtube. They are more accustomed to using video, as they usually stream their Sunday services, but the pre-recording part was new - minimal glitches, and they plan to continue with that. Lots of focus on connecting with each other, the life and work of the church in times of challenge.
 
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GeoFee said:
The community centred in the Big Red Church is not gathering on Sunday mornings. We are each and all committed to staying in touch by phone, email or internet. For my part, I sent a short video and a few words for the folks to consider on Sunday morning. Here is the link:

PATRICK'S BLOG | BigRedChurch

www.thebigredchurch127.com www.thebigredchurch127.com
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Thanks for this 'birthday gift' ! It fits nicely on my bookmarks tool bar.
 
Carolla, glad you visited, but it's Hillhurst not Hillside. Although if you walk a few blocks north of the church there is a hillside. :p It was a good service in any case, and yes the music is such a treasure in trying times.
 
I also 'attended' a few church services over the last couple of days. I love GeoFee's joy, and message....right on the mark. Some services, I hate to say....were quite boring....providing nothing new, and only songs that seemed to be more meaningful to the singers than the viewers. Aren't I awful for saying this? When a church didn't vary from their usual format, it didn't seem to work. When a church changed it up for the new reality of video, and did it with some savvy, it was great. It has certainly made me think of my own delivery of messages as a LLWL. I wonder how boring I am?
 
I watched my own congregation's service yesterday and found that to be enough. Technically, everyone is still learning so there will likely be fewer glitches next week. Adjusting to Zoom got a little distracting, too, but the community aspect of the gathering was heart-warming. I wonder what Palm Sunday will bring.
 
Bev at Whitehorse United was in either her home or church office. She had a simple background. I liked that she lit a candle and placed it on the shelf behind her. She had some of the typical components of a service, pared down a bit. Her message was beautiful about not knowing and about hope. She used the Ezekiel passage. She sang, and has a nice voice so it worked. It's a lovely service and is on their FB page.
 
We had a Quaker meeting by Zoom, also a first, half of it was a reading and silence and the other half worship sharing. It was nice to see the others on the screen and Zoom seems to be working well.
 
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