As For Me and My House

The internet is full of tips and tricks to work well from home. The reason these articles proliferated last year is because working from home is hard. The same is true of worshiping from home. If you are weary, take heart! Jesus says to you “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Sometimes it helps to just remember why we are doing this. God is absolutely glorious and worthy of our full allegiance! Allegiance to God is the source of true hope, joy, comfort, and delight. The first step we take each week in making our allegiance known and our joy complete is participating whole-heartedly and with anticipation in church. So for our good and for the glory of God, we want to invest our first efforts each week into participating in church! Just like with working from home, some initial effort can significantly improve the experience. Here are four specific suggestions for worshipping from home.

First, adopt a Sunday morning routine that includes, at a minimum, getting dressed for church! This is the simplest step, but it can make a real difference. Getting dressed communicates to your body that you are about to go do something, not just lounge around. It builds a sense of anticipation for what is to come and helps you get invested in church. Another aspect of a morning routine may be listening to the COTC Spotify playlist or other worship music to help prepare your soul. The details of each household’s routine will differ, but a Sunday morning routine will help you prepare for worship.

Second, and as part of your routine, create a sacred space. Just like you set up your work space for productive work, spend a minute preparing your church space for productive church! Maybe this means something as little as lighting a candle, burning some incense, or placing a cross on the table. Maybe it means putting some pillows on the ground as kneelers or rearranging your chairs to help orient the space around the church service stream. Perhaps printing the liturgy would be of help or worshipping in a different room. Alter the environment enough to make your body feel that something different—something special—is going on.

Third, make it a social event! Interact with others as much as you can, through the chat, through texting friends at the passing of the peace, even through a weekly gathering of a couple households to worship together. One of the lessons of Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together (see Lent groups!) is that the presence of other believers is a source of “incomparable joy and strength.” We need each other. So let’s be present to others. A simple message of “Peace” can assure someone that they are not alone. “What was the highlight of your week?” or “How can I pray for you this week?” goes even further. And don’t forget the power of emojis!

Fourth, for families with young kids, deliver a service for kids during the homily. I recommend two things in particular. Have the children watch Sarah’s Garden Service, but wait to play it in another room until right before the homily starts. Second, pick another edifying video to follow Sarah’s video, like Veggie Tales or Torchlighters. This will hopefully allow you to participate in the rest of the service with fewer demands for attention from the little ones and bless your kids with a service just for them!

Despite our best efforts, distractions will continue to arise. As they do, gently and graciously turn back to worship.

Grace and peace,
Andrew

P.S. If you have tips that have been helpful as you’ve worshiped from home, please let us know. This is just one of the many ways that we need each other!