Last Sunday was Easter, the most significant holiday for the Christian community universally, but many churches were unable to hold on-site celebrations because of the pandemic outbreak.
"Because of the worldwide COVID-19 virus pandemic, millions of local churches are going to be unable to meet together this Easter. Now this has never happened in 2000 years," said Rick Warren, author of the best seller Purpose Driven Life and senior pastor of Saddleback, a U.S. mega-church.
China is in the process of resuming production in different sectors, but the church is still suspending its on-site gatherings as the outbreak is not yet over. Many churches celebrated the Week of Good Friday and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus in different online formats.
Bin, a pastor from eastern China who was born born in the post-90s, observes how the outbreak is a huge blow, particularly to urban churches made up of the working-class and with a large proportion of elderly persons.
Many churches have to learn to transform their on-site services to online services in the midst of the crisis. "It's another huge opportunity, and it's going to be very difficult for many churches to change from on-site to online. This is similar to the time when people doubted the usefulness of e-commerce, but then SARS broke out, leading to the rise of e-commerce. Now this outbreak is providing an opportunity for the churches who respond rapidly to be revived. Till now, churches have been providing worship services and ministries online for nearly three months. Most churches are still struggling to adapt.... Anyway, no matter how different their theological views may be, it is time to put aside set opinions and learn from each other."
Undeniably, online services are much less sacred and sacramental than on-site services. It is also true that outbreaks and isolations cannot prevent love and faith, but we have seen that on-site services and religious rituals which we are so used to have a substance that online services cannot replace.
"It's also a time to examine everyone's true faith," wrote a young pastor, Brother Damo.
"During normal Easter commemorations and worship services in a public setting, there are constraints on the actions and behavior of people. Because of the supervision and instruction of pastors, the atmosphere of worship during an onsite church service is not easily disturbed. However, the actions of people during online Easter worship services remains unknown. Whether there is an atmosphere of worship during these events is complex and difficult to be sure of.
It is not clear how many people are truly engaged in online events. In long-distance services, the pretended solemnity and self-discipline of attendees is no longer necessary. There are no pastors present to supervise and constraints on proper behavior are gone. However, the biggest drawback of the online service is the weakening of the atmosphere and feeling of the Lord's presence. Yet, the most important part of services commemorating Good Friday and Easter is creating an atmosphere where believers feel the presence of the Lord."
Just as it is not easy for believers to celebrate Easter online, the same can be said for pastors. Pastor Bin, born in the post-90s, said: "As pastors we may not have adapted to the outbreak and online services, but we need to always attend these services anyway. Maybe the online service is a bit boring and not as appealing as something like Tik Tok; maybe it has no sense of ritual and seems a little perfunctory; maybe it is a bit disorganised; it isn't vibrant enough. The absence of believers is a church's greatest crisis. So maybe this Easter there isn't a sense of sacred ceremony. There are no wonderful performances in church, no gatherings of warm friendship, no sense of being moved by being present. But please support your own church's Easter celebration, support your pastors, and support your church. We don't require much from you but your involvement."
He added, "Would it not be OK for you to sing a hymn when your pastor invites you to do so? Would it not be OK for you to pray when your pastor asks you to do so? Would it not be OK for you to open your heart when your pastor asks you to share a testimony? Would it not be OK for you to give your pastors a little support?
"Let's make this Easter worthwhile;
Let's make this Easter an opportunity for us to gather again;
Let's make this Easter a chance to shine for the Lord.
If you will, invite your whole family to join your church's online Easter service, so that together we may experience the Lord's grace and be strengthened through connecting with others in this way. "
- Translated by Charlie Li
疫情下的2020年复活节：“两千年历史上首次全世界教会无法聚集庆祝”
上周日是复活主日，这是对各地基督教会最重大的节日，但因为新冠疫情，不少教会无法实地聚会。
“这是基督教两千年历史上，首次全世界教会都无法聚集庆祝复活节。”美国超大型教会马鞍峰教会主任牧师、畅销书《标竿人生》》作者华理克（Rick Warren）今年如此说。
中国正在处于不同行业逐渐复工阶段，但教会也因为疫情还未结束所以仍旧暂停实地聚会。不少教会在网络上以不同的形式度过受难周和庆祝复活主日。
华东一位90后的年轻牧者Bin观察到，疫情对于城市打工者教会和老年人居多的教会打击是巨大的。
但危机之中，不少教会被迫学习从实地聚会到在线聚会。“这又是一次巨大的契机，对于很多教会而言，从线下到线上，是很难转变的。这其实就和当年人们排斥电商一样，但一次非典，电商顺势崛起，那么这次疫情，也一定是那些能快速反应的教会顺势复兴的契机。 到今天，各教会开展线上聚会近三个月，多数教会还在努力适应的过程中....无论神学观点如何异同，当前，放下成见虚心学习是刻不容缓的。”
无法否认的是，线上聚会比实地聚会少了很多神圣和仪式感。的确，疫情和隔离无法隔绝爱和信仰，但的确也让我们看到曾经我们习以为常的实地聚会和宗教仪式有着它们无法取代的实质意义。
一位青年牧者大漠弟兄写到，这也是一个显露每个人真实信仰的时刻。“在实体纪念活动中，虽然也不免出现一些与纪念氛围不和谐的动作和行为，但毕竟有所约束和收敛，更何况还有牧者的监督和考察，与主临在的氛围自然不会被轻易打破。但在隔空纪念活动中，尤其依靠微信声音传达信息的教会，究竟是一种什么状态，活动中有没有这种与主临在的氛围都是复杂难辨的。甚至究竟有多少人在参与这个活动都是说不清的。这一隔空，那些因为面子、因为牧者的监督而假装表现出来的庄重和矜持，都没有必要了，一切的约束都没有了。所以，隔空纪念活动的最大弊端就是削弱了与主临在的氛围。而纪念受难周活动最应该彰显出来的，就应该是这种与主临在的氛围。”
可以说，在线过复活节不仅对信徒，对牧者也是个很不容易的。90后牧者Bin表示：””面对疫情、面对线上聚会，或许我们还没有适应，但无论如何请坚持参与——或许线上聚会有些无聊，没有抖音快手精彩；或许线上聚会没有仪式感，有点敷衍；或许线上聚会有点杂乱，状况百出；或许线上聚会有点冷清，参与的人不多。 没有众信徒的参与是教会最大的危机，所以这次复活节，或许也没有仪式感，没有精彩的节目，没有线下相聚的温暖，没有多少感动，但请支持自己教会的复活节，支持你的牧者，支持你的教会。要的不多，你参与就好。
“好不好，当牧者邀请你唱诗，你就高唱一曲；好不好，当牧者邀请你祷告，你就开口祈祷；好不好，当牧者邀请你分享，你就敞开心扉；好不好，给他们一点支持，一起来，让这个复活节不至于流产，让这个复活节成为我们再次凝聚的机会，让这个复活节有机会去为主发光。如果你愿意，那么邀请你在复活节那天，全家人整整齐齐的来参与到本教会复活节的线上敬拜，通过这样的连接，共同沐浴主恩，重新得力。”
Last Sunday was Easter, the most significant holiday for the Christian community universally, but many churches were unable to hold on-site celebrations because of the pandemic outbreak.
"Because of the worldwide COVID-19 virus pandemic, millions of local churches are going to be unable to meet together this Easter. Now this has never happened in 2000 years," said Rick Warren, author of the best seller Purpose Driven Life and senior pastor of Saddleback, a U.S. mega-church.
China is in the process of resuming production in different sectors, but the church is still suspending its on-site gatherings as the outbreak is not yet over. Many churches celebrated the Week of Good Friday and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus in different online formats.
Bin, a pastor from eastern China who was born born in the post-90s, observes how the outbreak is a huge blow, particularly to urban churches made up of the working-class and with a large proportion of elderly persons.
Many churches have to learn to transform their on-site services to online services in the midst of the crisis. "It's another huge opportunity, and it's going to be very difficult for many churches to change from on-site to online. This is similar to the time when people doubted the usefulness of e-commerce, but then SARS broke out, leading to the rise of e-commerce. Now this outbreak is providing an opportunity for the churches who respond rapidly to be revived. Till now, churches have been providing worship services and ministries online for nearly three months. Most churches are still struggling to adapt.... Anyway, no matter how different their theological views may be, it is time to put aside set opinions and learn from each other."
Undeniably, online services are much less sacred and sacramental than on-site services. It is also true that outbreaks and isolations cannot prevent love and faith, but we have seen that on-site services and religious rituals which we are so used to have a substance that online services cannot replace.
"It's also a time to examine everyone's true faith," wrote a young pastor, Brother Damo.
"During normal Easter commemorations and worship services in a public setting, there are constraints on the actions and behavior of people. Because of the supervision and instruction of pastors, the atmosphere of worship during an onsite church service is not easily disturbed. However, the actions of people during online Easter worship services remains unknown. Whether there is an atmosphere of worship during these events is complex and difficult to be sure of.
It is not clear how many people are truly engaged in online events. In long-distance services, the pretended solemnity and self-discipline of attendees is no longer necessary. There are no pastors present to supervise and constraints on proper behavior are gone. However, the biggest drawback of the online service is the weakening of the atmosphere and feeling of the Lord's presence. Yet, the most important part of services commemorating Good Friday and Easter is creating an atmosphere where believers feel the presence of the Lord."
Just as it is not easy for believers to celebrate Easter online, the same can be said for pastors. Pastor Bin, born in the post-90s, said: "As pastors we may not have adapted to the outbreak and online services, but we need to always attend these services anyway. Maybe the online service is a bit boring and not as appealing as something like Tik Tok; maybe it has no sense of ritual and seems a little perfunctory; maybe it is a bit disorganised; it isn't vibrant enough. The absence of believers is a church's greatest crisis. So maybe this Easter there isn't a sense of sacred ceremony. There are no wonderful performances in church, no gatherings of warm friendship, no sense of being moved by being present. But please support your own church's Easter celebration, support your pastors, and support your church. We don't require much from you but your involvement."
He added, "Would it not be OK for you to sing a hymn when your pastor invites you to do so? Would it not be OK for you to pray when your pastor asks you to do so? Would it not be OK for you to open your heart when your pastor asks you to share a testimony? Would it not be OK for you to give your pastors a little support?
"Let's make this Easter worthwhile;
Let's make this Easter an opportunity for us to gather again;
Let's make this Easter a chance to shine for the Lord.
If you will, invite your whole family to join your church's online Easter service, so that together we may experience the Lord's grace and be strengthened through connecting with others in this way. "
- Translated by Charlie Li
Easter 2020: The First Time Coronavirus Keeps Churches around the Globe from Gathering in 2,000 Years
