By Pastor Jeffrey E. Meinz

“I never would have dreamed as I was preparing to become a pastor that there would be a day when I would be leading an online worship service to an empty sanctuary.”

COVID 19 has certainly stretched the Church far beyond our imagination and worship as we know it might never be the same.

It’s possible that the “sharing of the peace” during worship is a thing of the past. Hugs and handshakes may slowly begin to fade. Introverts around the world rejoice while those who love warm hugs abhor the thought.

“What about the passing of the offering plate?
Does weekly giving transition to only on-line or will we drop our offering into locked boxes as we enter or leave the sanctuary?
Isn’t that what the widow did with her mite?”

• Will we be required to wear masks during worship?
• What does that mean for hymn singing?
• Will the adult choir need purple masks to match their robes?
• How muffled might the liturgy sound?
• Will the pastors always wear rubber gloves during the distribution of communion?
• In an effort to adhere to 6 feet of social distancing will we only be able to sit in every other pew?
• Can we ever use paper bulletins again or will everything be projected onto the screens?
• Don’t even get me started on proper hymnal usage! Did the people at 8 o’clock use antibacterial gel prior to handling the hymnal because now the people at 9:30 need to use the same one?

What about coffee and cookies? Can you casually walk up to a table full of home-made coffee cake and safely make your selection? You might begin to wonder who touched the coffee pot prior to you. Is anybody disinfecting the jug of creamer between uses? Maybe we should each arrive to church with our own travel mugs of coffee and individually wrapped chocolate covered coconut macaroons.

“To some of you, this might all sound a little silly. To others, this sounds like a necessity. Honestly, a significant majority of us don’t know what to think.”

Worship has been shifting from the beginning of time. Originally, worship had a grand attendance of only two. Adam and Eve sat on a rock, probably near the back of the garden, and worshiped God. Abraham and Sarah probably worshiped God from underneath a tent. The Israelites worshiped God in Egypt, then in the desert, then in the Tabernacle. Solomon built an elaborate temple. Jesus taught the people from the side of a mountain. The very first Easter was hosted at an empty tomb. King David experienced worship with a lute and a lyre. Martin Luther loved the organ. Many Christians today enjoy the sound of a praise team. Yes, worship has always been shifting.

But one thing has remained the same: Jesus. That will never change!

I sincerely don’t know what worship looks like in the future at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Surely it will change in some form or fashion. I don’t anticipate anything drastic, but I do know this: We will gather, we will worship God, we will faithfully distribute the Sacraments, and we will overwhelmingly receive God’s abundant mercy and grace. Worship has always been shifting, but God does not change.

“Therefore we will gather together and somehow worship an unchanging God. Minor shifts may occur here and there but God’s perfect gifts delivered to his people will never change.”

By: Jeff Faunce

Holy Cross at Compassion Project 223 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Betesda – Naranjo

Revelation 7:9-10. 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

I’ve loved this verse for many years. It speaks of the universality of God’s people—that God’s eternal people will gather to praise Him from every nation, tribe, people, and language. It has become more meaningful after participating in Holy Cross mission trips to Honduras. I’d read that verse before and heard the stories of others who had been in mission around the world, but neither prepared me for the experience of seeing God’s global grace in person. His grace truly is amazing!

Again this year, as our team of 21 souls traveled to Lepaterique and Tegucigalpa Honduras, God reinforced that He is God of the whole world and that the language of faith is universal. How else to explain the instant bond we have with our brothers and sisters at Betesda church in Lepaterique and at Compassion Project 223 in Tegucigalpa? How else to explain the amazement that new travelers experience when they are welcomed with all the love that only brothers and sisters in Christ share?

The partnership between Holy Cross and the people of Honduras is a special one. If there is one thing I would like you to know it is that God is growing His kingdom among the people there and that you are making a difference. We see it year to year. There is progress in the day to day lives of people and eternally through faith.

In the early years we would join Betesda (Pastor Omar’s church) in worship—one year illuminated only by the lights of an old truck—and see a congregation that was just beginning to come together. But they came together in the joy of the Lord.

As the host of Compassion Project 222, Betesda chose to focus on children. Back then, that focus was necessarily on the children of Betesda and Lepaterique. They didn’t’t have the resources to do more. However, as the years have gone on, God has blessed the partnership between Betesda and Holy Cross. He has given the people of Holy Cross generous hearts—and He has fanned the flames of outreach among the people of Betesda. The combination of resources and relentless outreach has resulted in an additional 11 churches being planted across the countryside outside of Lepaterique. Literally hundreds of additional children and their families are hearing the eternal hope of the gospel and benefiting from help here and now in this world.

The people of Betesda and the outlying villages are blessed by your sponsorship of children through Compassion International. We see evidence in every child and home we visit. They are blessed by Holy Cross mission funds that they turn into self-sustaining agriculture at each church site. They are blessed as the Honduras Golf Tournament raises funds to give promising young Christian leaders the opportunity to advance their education. They are blessed by what you contribute to trip supplies and to the assembly of hygiene kits. And they are blessed when you purchase coffee, grown by the labor of God’s people, employing 20 families and giving them hope and a purpose.

One of my favorite stories revolves around one of Betesda’s satellite congregations, Naranjo. The people of Naranjo came to Pastor Omar and said, “We need a new building. The one we have is rotting away and is not safe for our people.” Pastor Omar replied, “I know you need a new building, but we simply don’t have the resources at this time.”

The people of Naranjo got together and said, “We will pray and we will clear the land for a new building.” They cleared the land and one of the elders took a stone and placed it at the corner of the newly cleared site. He said, “It is on this site that God will build His church. We will pray and watch God work.”

At the same time in the halls of Holy Cross, I was approached, without prompting, by several members who asked, “What do you need for Honduras this year?” I had just heard about the needs of Naranjo. I tell you, within two hours we had the necessary funds to purchase the materials for a new building.

We wired the money to Pastor Omar, who purchased the material in anticipation of our trip. We arrived on a Friday expecting to see cleared land and a pile of material ready for us to help assemble into a new sanctuary. What we found was a church building nearly complete. The people had worked 20 straight days to put up the building we all would end up worshiping in the following Sunday. Now that’s a partnership! Each doing what they can under God’s direction to accomplish something greater than the sum of the parts.

I hope this blog post has given you a glimpse into this special ministry. I also hope you will continue to be a part of what God is doing through this partnership. Perhaps your next step is coming on a trip? Ask anyone who has gone, or contact Lorrie or me directly. We’d love to speak with you about being a part of this ministry now and into the future.