Wednesday, June 17, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
23
Commentary...
Longing for our eternal home
By Lisa May
Columnist
This is the second of two
columns on the disruption of
church services during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
In a previous column, we
looked at the definition and
goals of the church in the
New Testament.
In New Testament lan-
guage, the church is not a
building, but an assembly of
people. Many of the goals
of this assembly can be met
in small groups, sometimes
even more successfully than
in a larger church gathering.
So why do we need
church buildings at all?
Can9t we accomplish all the
goals of gathering together
through Zoom meetings
and small groups? Although
Jesus modeled small group
ministry as He instructed the
12 disciples, He taught large
assemblies as well. There is
a very clear model for com-
munity in the Bible, with
goals that cannot always be
met unless a larger group
is gathered in person. One
such goal is to bear one
another9s burdens.
As Mikee Stutzman,
Ministry Coordinator at Vast
Church in Sisters, pointed
out, <it9s hard to share each
other9s burdens through a
screen.=
Gary Radmacher is an
elder at Sisters Community
Church (SCC). He is cur-
rently staying longer than
expected for ministry in
Africa due to travel restric-
tions initiated because of the
pandemic (see related story,
page 3). When asked about
the negative impact of bans
on church gatherings, Gary
said, <Life is all about rela-
tionships, and since com-
munication is essential to
maintaining and growing
relationships, and since the
majority of communication
is nonverbal, being in the
physical presence of other
people is a must for success-
ful relationships to occur.
So, what I9ve missed most is
the face-to-face communica-
tion that I get to have with
people in my church family.=
Many members of the
church have relationships
that extend wider than the
small group setting can
accommodate. Those wider
church family relation-
ships need time and care as
well.
Sometimes those wider
church relationships spur
us to growth. Wendy
Bachmeier, who handles
publications and the online
presence at SCC explained,
<when interacting with other
people I find out not every-
body thinks the same thing
I do or believes the same
thing I do. Practicing for-
giveness, repentance and
grace is needed for us to
grow as people, even when
it9s not easy. We can9t really
love to the full extent unless
we9re with other people and
see God9s love put in to
action.=
The church is also called
to serve others. There have
been many unique oppor-
tunities to serve the Sisters
community during the pan-
demic and countless people,
including those outside the
church, have risen to the
occasion. Bachmeier also
has a role as emergency
needs coordinator at SCC.
She congratulated the com-
munity of Sisters saying,
<neighbors are taking care
of neighbors and looking in
on older folks. The church
hasn9t been needed as much
as we thought we would be
4 the community is taking
care of each other.=
But some regular oppor-
tunities to serve have been
shut down.
A n d r e w D e K e y s e r,
a worship leader at Vast
Church, explained that what
he has missed in recent
months is <different oppor-
tunities to serve, including
leading worship.=
Singing together in wor-
ship seems to be one of
the things most missed by
the church in Sisters. It is
a supernatural event when
God9s people sing praises
to His name in unison. One
example of this is the Unity
Service that has been coor-
dinated by several churches
in Sisters for the last sev-
eral years, taking place in
August on the ball fields
at Sisters Middle School.
Singing God9s praise among
the entire body of believers
from all of time is promised
for us in eternity. So it could
be said that the longing to
return to full-size worship
gatherings is analogous to
the longing for our eternal
home.
Disruptions to normal
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Comments? Email
editor@nuggetnews.com
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PHOTO BY LISA MAY
Vast Church continues to gather in smaller groups in backyards
throughout Sisters.
routines can be used by
God for His good purposes.
Whether we continue to
pause regular worship ser-
vices, or even as we begin to
return to church buildings,
let us all take this oppor-
tunity to refresh our think-
ing on God9s goals for the
church.
THE ARENDS & SCOTT REALTY GROUP
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Phil Arends
Principal Broker
541-420-9997
phil.arends@cascadesir.com
Licensed in the State of Oregon
Chris Scott
Broker
541-588-6614
chris.scott@cascadesir.com
Licensed in the State of Oregon