For the first time ever, in the ninth month of a year that starts with 20, I will not publish on these pages a list of Trinity's choirs complete with dates and times that rehearsals will begin for the Fall. As the safety of singing in groups is still in serious question, our choirs for all ages will continue to be on hold indefinitely. As difficult as that is to put in print and as much as we all miss the connection of meeting in person, I will instead take this opportunity to recognize some of the ways that worshiping via recorded video services has provided new forms of connection that may not be immediately apparent, beginning with the notion that each week, with the click of a button (and the patience of Job while uploading) our clergy, musicians, lay readers, and video editors, all in different places, come together in a shared Google Drive folder labeled Trinity to create these video services.
In much the same way that I was initially resistant to cell phones, email, and self checkout at the grocery store (actually still not sold on that one), I have slowly found that the medium of video services does offer some inspiring possibilities not easily accomplished in live worship. For example, just this past Sunday, we were able to incorporate an image of the Apostle Peter from one of the stained glass windows into the video of an anthem about Peter. Similarly, being able to record children's sermons in different locations has opened up many options not possible in the basement of the church.
Yet another silver lining of video services has been the ability to see my colleagues at other churches in action. Both musicians and clergy rarely get the opportunity to attend worship at other churches but now, along with everyone else, we can watch any number of services in any number of places at any number of times. The connections are endless and also work both ways, increasing our own expo-sure. Several of our recorded musical selections have been viewed thousands of times, far more than we could ever hope for in person. I expect we have all had the experience and joy of being able to watch our extended family's and friend's churches, and have them see ours, to an extent never before possible.
Being witness to so many services has also given me a renewed appreciation for our beautiful Episcopal liturgy. Dating back to Thomas Cranmer's original Book of Common Prayer, the Roman Rite before that, and even the pre-Christian Jewish tradition, the interconnectedness of our common worship is much more apparent when we can so easily see it in action in so many different places. From the lips of a retired Bishop with a British accent to a new Rector with a southern one, the same reassuring words of our liturgy, with their ancient origins and order, are repeated in many more accents and languages around the world. Whether it be in the back yard or on the computer screen, our liturgy connects us to the countless generations of Christians who have come both before and after us and, in the present, helps bind us all together in the body of Christ.
There is no doubt that a video service cannot replace the sense of family we have when worshiping together in person. But perhaps the immediate connections we are sacrificing are allowing for more far reaching ones. Just maybe, as Christians around the world attempt to squeeze the depth of our liturgy and the breadth of Jesus' love through the lens of a camera, it might give all of us the opportunity to see more clearly that our common prayer is far greater than our differences and that we can rejoice in the knowledge that our God is alive on Google Drive.
Christian