Back to Church?

As we make preparations to reopen our churches for regular worship, and I know it’s a slow process but believe me a lot of people are putting in a lot of hard work to bring it about, I thought I would have a bit of light relief and share this set of “Commandments”.

They were written by a Minister who pastors in the lovely Ontario town of Guelph, an hour or so west of Toronto, so some of the references might be a little bit Americanised.

Enjoy your Saturday and if this brings a smile to your face then our work is done.

Why come to church at all? And why undertake all these cumbersome precautions (besides the fact that they’re government-mandated)? Because we are a people committed first and second to the love of God and of our neighbour.

  • Thou shalt enter the Lord’s house with thanksgiving in thy heart, for he has made thee imagine church in a new way.
  • Thou shalt enter the Lord’s house with care in thy heart for thy neighbour.
  • Thou shalt wear a covering for thy face. Thy face-mask is thy shield and portion, which shall be issued unto thee if thou bringest not thine own.
  • Thou shalt guard between thyself and thy neighbour six feet of distance in all thy paths.
  • Thou shalt bring thine own coffee and speak with thy neighbour within the wide and spacious place where thou parkest thy chariot.
  • Within the Lord’s house, thou shalt take no other seat besides those that have been marked out for thee.
  • Thou shalt not sing, lest the Lord’s people singeth moistly, causing droplets from thy mouth to fall upon thy neighbour.
  • Present thine offering remotely using the means provided unto thee.
  • Thou shalt touch no common objects that may be rendered unclean by thy touch.
  • Thou shalt retain unto thyself the option of worshipping the Lord from within thine own house, for online worship shall continue. For it is a good and pleasant thing to hope that from this season the Lord might call new worshippers to himself.