During the lockdown the congregation have not been able to attend church. Instead they have used home worship in the form of letters and hymn sheets distributed by the minister.
It now looks like the church will be inaccessible for much longer and its so important that people still feel part of the church. Little things like seeing friends read the lessons, listening to the organ or just having the focus by all visiting at once.
This is where tech can really work. I wrote an article at the start of COVID suggesting that after the initial rush from helping set everyone up for home working, the techies will bi increasingly in demand to help social organisations survive or perhaps THRIVE is a better word.
We have been helping St Paul’s URC Harrogate run online services. We meet the minister and then the organist in the church with proper social distancing. We record each part of the service with them and the stitch it back together into the regular format. In the last week we have also been “zooming” a different group of members each week to record them reading the lessons.
The end result is an on line service with all the things people were missing!
We have received comments from as far as Canada and also from a number of previous attenders who have grown too old to attend.
So not only is the church innovating, its now thriving as a result of COVID and technology combined!
Have a look at https://www.stpauls-harrogate.org.uk/services
