“Leave The Children Out,” The Mediated Reality of Streaming Worship

Last updated on: March 20, 2020 at 10:23 am by Christy Thomas

“Leave The Children Out,” The Mediated Reality of Streaming Worship 2020-03-20T10:23:12-05:00 Christy Thomas

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

If we are not going to leave the children out in this new world of necessary mediated worship, we must engage in extremely creative, barrier-breaking holy thinking.

Remember the novel coronavirus crisis will leave both church and society forever changed. Nothing will ever be the same again.

I wrote much of what is below years ago, but never, for some reason, hit the “publish” button. However, in light of what is happening in the US right now, and my real concerns about whether the church will survive this necessary move away from physically gathering together, I decided to give it a fresh edit and send it out.

My growing concern: the necessary move to electronic worship will leave the children out.

What I wrote then:

One night, at the church I was serving as the pastor, we had a great jazz band, members of our congregation, perform a concert. Everyone had a fabulous time, loving both the expertise and interaction with the musicians. While we may have been audience, we were also participants in the evening’s pleasure.

One can always, of course, just purchase a CD or download recordings of favorite music by favorite musicians and listen to them at will. But the live performance brings something so much more than convenient recording. To listen to music in the presence of others means we add their reactions and responses to our own.

The experience flowers more beautifully for the connection. Passivity recedes, the present moment fills the space, pushing away distractions and enhancing centeredness.

TV, recordings, on-demand entertainment, enjoyed solo or with only a few others, certainly can deliver pleasure and distraction. However, they keep the viewers at a distance from the real event.

Watching a game on TV may mean a far better view of the playing field and great close-ups of individual athletes, but rarely will a TV-viewed game (unless perhaps viewed with dozens of friends) lead to the exhilaration of the real thing, especially when it is a closely fought finish with all the fans cheering wildly or groaning at a missed pass or blocked goal.

At a live game, those in the grandstands become part of the action; the victories and defeats more touchable and memorable.

I know this is why I have an aversion to both TV preachers and to piped-in sermons to remote venues. Yes, the experience may be more professional, more expertly delivered, but it is also removed.

Worship is a communal activity. When I announce, “The Lord be with you,” the congregation responds with one voice, “and also with you,” it reminds us all that we do this together. Some may lead, some may respond, but we’re in this as a community learning how to worship with one another.

Recordings of musical performances, particularly with current technology, can eliminate most errors in performance, and reduce extraneous sounds or other things that might distract.

Live concerts, however, must recognize the possibility that humans do not always perform perfectly, and that other members of the audience can make sounds or movements or comments that may disrupt the focus.

I think that is part of the tendency to move to more professional worship services–eliminate the possibility of human error, control more tightly the environment.

I just wonder if we have lost more than we have gained. Having to sit in worship next to someone we may not especially like, or who may have a restless child in tow, or who wears too much perfume or not enough deodorant can seem like a distraction from the main purpose, the worship of God. And yet, to intentionally embrace the other, to look past the irritant into the soul, may open the door to much more powerful, more real, more present worship.

To have to wait on the reader to find the passage, to have to focus for twenty or thirty or forty minutes on a message sometimes delivered without professional polish, to have to sing with the clueless tuneless–all these teach us patience and compassion. Or at least, ideally, they do.

Just about everyone expects God to be patient with us, and to look upon us with compassion. Could not the experience of live, imperfect, occasionally uncomfortable worship do the same for us?

The more technology intertwines with our lives, the more mediated and less direct our experiences become. FaceBook, not face-to-face. Twitter snips, not full, lengthy, thought-provoking articles. Projected perfection, not occasionally stumbling worship leaders.

God removed, safe and controlled, not God present and us on our knees before the Holy One, full of glory.

I’m not sure this is real progress.

What do I fear now? We will leave the children out.

And now, in the midst of the novel coronavirus crisis that is certainly going to worsen and will likely mean a prolonged absence from anything looking like “normal” worship? It’s distance; it’s the mediated reality; it’s solitary worship, or it’s nothing.

I retired 5 1/2 years ago. Some of my most beautiful memories of worship involve the children, and we had so many of them, eagerly getting their after-worship “Dr. Christy” hug.

I remember beautiful faces, solemnly turned up toward me as I present to them the Body of Christ in the communion bread, torn from the common loaf. I touch each child, loving them with every ounce of my being. It was face-to-face, touch-to-touch. Delight exchanged, memories of glorious church and the love of Jesus engraved on their brains.

I weep for the loss here. And it must now necessarily be that loss.

So now, what to do? How can we put those memories into the souls of the children? It must happen now within the family gatherings. Parents will now need to become worship leaders, sitting with their children on Sunday mornings, teaching them, being empowered by the church at large to consecrate the elements of Holy Communion. It is one option.

If we are not going to leave the children out in this new world of necessary mediated worship, we must engage in extremely creative, barrier-breaking holy thinking. Remember this crisis will leave both church and society forever changed. Nothing will ever be the same again.

Don’t leave the children out. Don’t let them see a “closed” sign on church doors. Consider those little ones, still in that tender age where they more freely see and feel the Holy Presence in their innocent souls. We must find ways for them to experience that kind of enfolding love.

My prayers are all over those in active church and pastoral leadership. Nothing you have done before will work now.

Yet, the church can do this. God has called us to this very task, and, together, in our apartness, we can figure this out.

Photo credit: Photo credit: Geraint Rowland Photography on VisualHunt / CC BY-NC

Photo credit: Geraint Rowland Photography on VisualHunt / CC BY-NC

The United Methodist Church

Previous Post

March 19, 2020

The Grocery Store, Coronavirus Diary, March 19 2020

Next Post

March 25, 2020 Are Older People Useless? Does Dan Patrick Want My Husband To Die?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category " obedience abortion accommodation accountability administration adolescence Advent advice an ordinary death anxiety apology apportionments Ash Wednesday ask thoughtfulpastor baptism betrayal Bible bondage calling certainty change character charity children Christianity Christmas church church as garden clergy clergy credentials closure comfort compassion competition compromise Confirmation conservation conservative conspiracy theories consumer conversion coronavirua corruption courage covenant cultural context death Deconstruction discipleship discord divorce doctrine doing good drugs dysfunctional Easter Easter; Resurrection education election entertainment envy escape evaluation evil exclusive church exercise faith faithfulness family fasting fear feast featured film review finances first world problem food forgiveness fundamentalist garden gay marriage General Conference generosity giving thanks GLBT glory good government grace guilt habit happy harmony hateful acts healing health health care heaven hell hello/goodbye heresy hidden agenda holiness homelessness homosexuality humility hymn hypocrisy Imago Dei In training inclusive church indulgence injustice innocents insurance intolerance itinerancy joy Justice kindness Kingdom of Heave kingdom of heaven language laughter laundry lawsuit leadership Lent LGBTQ liberal life Little Things Matter longform meandering thoughts memories mercy metaphor metrics miracle misfortunes morality Mormon Muslim mystery worship natural disasters New Category Name nutrients older adults oppression pain Paleo paperwork partnered pastor peace pension pharmaceutical placebo politics poverty prayer privilege public schools questions quiet racism rain reason reconciliation religion repentance requirements rescue respect rest resurrection retirement Sabbath sacrament sacred salvation same-sex marriage sanctuary schism schooling science SCOTUS secrecy separation of church and state sexism sexuality short cuts silence sin sleep soil spiritual journey stillness suffering surgery sustainable church teacher technology thank you theology therapy thinking tolerance TOS trust truth Uncategorized welcome Why Easter? wisdom women worship

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 March 2025 February 2025 December 2024 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 October 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 March 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz