This is in line with all I've seen the last ten decades from /about/ the world's largest 'church' sending it's own members to the schools of all the other 'churches' to become teachers or pastors or administrators in those other groups to help 'guide' them back to the home group they believe everyone has left from. Subtly or not, they go along with the world church(es) instead of the Bible. That is so common in the usa, (and other places?), people may think it is normal; it is normal, but not for new creations. When what happened in the Bible, in the assemblies as written, happens someplace, people see the difference. I think that it is even more grievous if they "know" what their group teaches and go along with it instead of the Bible. I've met more 'Lutheran' pastors than pastors from any other group, and most of them seem set on going along with the world church/ crowd/ false gospel(s), comfortably with their members and other pastors and teachers and admin.
I was going to post the events in a typical Methodist service, but it's been hacked up by COVID. And things are different during Lent. We used to have communion every week (the prior pastors did it monthly but the current pastor does it every Sunday), and we stopped for a while. Then we picked back up doing it sporadically, but with the Pre-Packaged set: Communion wafer in the top, grape juice in the vessel. For a while we each picked one up on our way out the door and just did our own thing individually loitering outside. (Funny way to "commune," huh?) Two weeks ago we started doing these together inside. We were not allowed to sing for the longest time. No Bibles or hymnals were allowed in the sanctuary. (I was part of the crew that came in and packed everything up as we began to have services again.) Then when this spring hit, we had services outdoors and could sing with our masks on. Then we moved back inside and for one service, 4 of us stood up front and sang while the others listened. Then last week everyone was allowed to have a hymnal and to sing. None of the singing or communion changes were formally announced, they just happened. Perhaps our pastor is getting tired of the prescribed state of being...I don't think the rules from HQ have formally changed. Services had been truncated because of no singing/no communion. For the longest time they were 1/2 hour. They have gradually lengthened back to an hour. It has had the feel of at least making us show up each Sunday for fear we would get out of the habit and never return. Our Lay leader and I talked about this. She and her ancestors have a long history with this church and will do anything to make sure it survives this mess. @Ken Anderson is right about the length of the pastor's sermon. This has been true since I've been going here the past 10 years, except the prior pastor took a little longer on the Sundays with no communion. Standard services generally consist of announcements by the Lay leader (community events and illnesses take a while to discuss), a brief New Testament reading, a brief Old Testament reading, songs sprinkled throughout, the sermon, The Nicene Creed, Confession of faith, Communion, then the Dismissal prayer. As an aside, I miss our prior pastor. He was a great guy. He is why I started going to the churches in this charge. There would be times he would have his prepared sermon out, then say "I really don't want to read this today." And he would talk extemporaneously. Or he would pull up a chair and sit with us and we would informally talk about the Bible. It was real. It was connected. Sadly, he passed away a couple of years ago after suffering with a heart condition.
I find the pre-package communion a little off-putting myself. I don't think there is any singing yet in the Methodist churches here inside, but lots take place outside the church with no masks whatsoever. A pause to services was in place last year at this time. We spoke with a minister from a nearby town, and he told us he was a bit afraid to make his congregation wear masks, as they were a bit Libertarian and all carried firearms (or most), and he had been told that no body was going to wear masks to church. I don't know what the situation is now. The conservative churches here just ignore the mandates, and have had nop uptick in cases or repercussions that I know about.
Met church, which I haven't attended since becoming caregiver, has returned to almost normal. They sing. They do not mask. Communion is how you choose, packet or wafer and glass. They have service on YouTube so I go in living room with wife
Cross posted from Why Face Masks Don't Work My church believes in COVID. Big time. Today the word was informally floated that come next month The Vaccinated shall not be required to wear their masks. Every week our pastor prays for "the pandemic" and "thanks God that so many have gotten vaccinated." It sets my teeth on edge. This whole thing is starting to wear on me. There are people there already talking about doing this every year because the flu season has been so mild. Our pastor chimes in with "Yeh, in parts of Asia, everyone's mask goes on in October and it doesn't come off until April." I'm living in the midst of all the dystopian books I've read, and now it's tangible. It's really here. Nothing is more frightening than overt ignorance coupled with social aggressiveness, and if you're not "one of them," you are a target. It's 5th grade playground crap all over again, except these kids have driver's licenses and they vote. I walk out of church Sunday mornings feeling worse than I do all week, and if I'm one of The Non-Vaccinated, I know some of the conversations that will be had. There is more than one woman there who has started her admonition with "Well, I don't know, BUT..." rather than end their statement with it. I believe my tenure there is coming to an end. I'm not certain what's next, for me or for this country.
The church we attend seems to be headed the same way--no masks if you are vaccinated. Apparently singing will still not be allowed. Neither wife nor I are vaccinated, so she asked the priest not to require her to wear a yellow star on her chest.... He said that would never happen....
Yeh, well, predictions are tough to make...especially about the future. You try to find concrete data about the vaccine stopping transmission of the virus, and you get stuff like "scientists are reluctant to go that far..." followed with "but that doesn't mean it won't..." or "It will eventually..." It's this degree of willful cult-like ignorance among adults that truly frightens (and infuriates) me. They have been beating on others to wear masks so as to protect everyone else (which defies logic), and now that they've been vaccinated (so that their symptoms are reduced), they want to take off their masks in a "screw everyone else now I got my protection" move. Either that, or they never believed the "my mask protects you" garbage in the first place. Or they believe whatever that morning's communication tells them to believe. One of the "We all have to do our part" women pushing me to get vaccinated has been making masks for people. I've yet to ask her if she really believes that (a) the random swatch of fabric she attached elastic to will stop such a deadly virus, (b) said swatch will only stop the virus in one direction, and (c) she is certain she has the swatch installed in such a way that the virus can get in but it can't get out. But I'm this close (||) to asking her.
In a quirky sorta funny way, when a church relies on secular half-science to preach a standard like vaccinations, masks, politics etc, aren’t we looking at a reversal of the inquisition? I mean, during the inquisition it was the church that made the rules no matter how faulty they might have been (and still are in some cases) and now it’s a branch of the secular / political grouping that dictates what the church will preach. To me it’s like giving Caesar all of it and let’s forget God’s portion.....
One of the pro mask "experts" I listened to stated that for any mask to be effective in protecting others, you should be able to blow out a wooden match or a candle at the distance of one foot. If you cannot do that, your breath is simply blowing around the mask and not being filtered. When I asked several people to test their mask in this way, none could do that, meaning, according to this guy, that there is no protection of others using these masks. I am sure the Jews in 1930s Germany never thought they would have to wear stars, and when they did, they never imagined the consequences n the future.
Yep, but one of the things the Progressives want to remove from influence is the Church and the family. If the Church as a whole obeys the government, they have accomplished the goal. Biden's proposed "American Family Act" subsidizes the destruction of the family in a somewhat similar way to what the "War on Poverty" did to poor families in the 1970s. If you follow the Progessive philosophy, their principal goal is to have all decisions made by the "experts", not the individual, the Church, the family or the voter.
That is exactly what I have felt ever since we (a) stopped having services, and (b) came back with the secular rules. The church became the opposite of being a sanctuary from the secular world, it became a magnifier of it.
Absolutely that is what has successfully been done with COVID. We have failed the test big time! (Or at least it seems a large number have, although I hold out hope.) People have surrendered themselves as lost cultists to whatever conduit a politician stands up as being an "expert." I literally feel like I am stuck in a Twilight Zone episode sometimes, and need to watch what I say. These days, a statement like "The Emperor is naked!" just might lead to the nearest rope & tree, with the final admonishment of "The Emperor is clothed if the experts say he is."
Heck, have people look at their masked selves in the mirror so they can watch their masks as they inhale and then exhale. -Inhaling sucks the cloth tightly to your mouth. -Exhaling billows it out. You tell me which is the greater filter. You ain't protecting others and leaving yourself exposed...it's the opposite. And that doesn't even take into account the lack of efficacy of all the materials that are being used. (I can't type this without getting infuriated at the aggressive way people have thrown away their common sense. I can hear someone going through that test and still say "It doesn't matter. Dear Leader says." Aarrrggghhhhh.)
The mainstream churches have long ignored Christ's teachings about the narrow gate, and about how not everyone who believes themselves to be a Christian will find salvation. Rather, the mainstream churches have suggested, if not directly taught, that intent is all that matters and that pretty much anyone who even thinks there might be a God will be given a pass, even if they chose the wrong god. Perhaps what we're seeing in the mainstream church's response to the COVID scare is a clarification of what the remnant might consist of, or who it might not consist of. I would venture to say that most of them won't be coming from the churches that were okay with giving their governors leadership over the church. "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." -- Luke 13:24 "Not everyone who says to me, 'LORD, LORD,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'LORD, LORD, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" -- Matthew 7:21-23
I've been giving a woman a ride to church for quite a while. She's in her 50s, borderline "special needs," has no job (she cannot really work) so she's got no car (but she does drive), and is related to a few folks at church. I've been giving her a ride because it's only a mile out of my way, versus others driving past the church (they all live up that way), driving 5 miles to her house to get her, then driving 5 miles back to church. I called her yesterday to tell her that she's gonna need to have those folks start giving her a ride again. I cannot subject myself to what Sunday mornings have devolved into. And it's going to get worse. Our governor has lifted the mask mandate for those who have gotten "vaccinated." It goes into effect May 28. The only other ones at church who have not been vaccinated stopped going a while ago...I'm the sole surviving mrna-intact attendee. So starting the last Sunday of this month, I would be wearing The Scarlet Letter as everyone else goes bare-faced. We recently started having congregants stand in front of the church and read scripture during services. Last Sunday the lay leader asked if I would take a turn on Sunday the 30th and I said "Yes" before I knew of the change in the mask rules. I would not accuse her of anything untoward, but the timing is sure suspect...my position is not a secret, not because I advertise it, but because it comes out when I'm put in a position of defending myself. It sucks. There goes the only human contact I've got, outside of shopping. I might start looking for another church, but even in the best of times, we all know what that experience is like (all the aggressiveness and desperation of a used car salesman on the last day of the month.) There were a couple of churches bucking the mandates early on. I may stop by and see what they are like. Or I may not.