Livestream on Sunday
- Details
- Published: Friday, 20 March 2020 18:03
- Written by James Dean
The coronavirus has brought us into a time of unprecedented change and as a direct result bechurch will be doing something we've never done before - livestreaming the sermon on Sundays.
With the introduction of Government restrictions to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus we have made the difficult but sensible decision not to meet together on Sundays for worship or midweek for life groups until we're told it's once again safe to do so. Initially this will be for a period of 4 weeks (starting Sunday 22 March, 2020) and will be re-assessed monthly.
You can access the livestream and other video content from bechurch at our YouTube channel or if you prefer to stay on this website, at bechurch.org/live.
What does this mean for bechurch in the long term?
This means we will need to consider new ways of being a church
Discipling and being discipled is easiest when you are able to spend time together with other Christians, but the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to keep apart. Being a church is largely about being part of a community of believers, so we need to think about ways of doing that without being physically together. We are going to need to embrace technology and other forms of communication to help us continue to function as the body of Christ. If you're staying inside because you're sick and having to self-isolate, if you're feeling lonely, or if you are in need of some help please get in contact and we will do all we can for you.
This is a temporary measure, not a permanent replacement for church
Being a church is about meeting together in order to disciple, encourage, teach and love one another. Thanks to the coronavirus we're not able to do that in the usual way so we need to do things differently for a while. We will pray for and end to this virus so that we can return to worshipping together in person.
The livestream won't include entire services
Not all the elements that we include in a Sunday service lend themselves to being streamed. For instance, it's not easy to sing congregationally when there is a delay introduced on a video connection. So we are just going to be livestreaming the sermon and the rest of the service - children's talks, reading the Bible and praying - to you to watch in your homes; either on your own or with your families. Each week, we'll send out our "Preparing for Worship" email as usual and will include all the resources you will need.
This will not be perfect and will feel a bit odd
If you are used to video-conferencing you'll know that while it's handy to be able to speak with people who may be many miles away, it's also not quite the same as being in the same physical location. We fully appreciate that trying to worship from our homes will be strange and is highly likely to be difficult due to the usual distractions of being at home. That's okay. In many ways, it's good that it feels odd, because our hope is that these weeks at home will make us long to meet together once again, as we are called to do:
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
So let's take every opportunity we are given to be good neighbours, to be the church God has called us to be while loving one another and being salt & light to everyone we are able to speak with in the coming weeks & months.
