Explanation

An unanticipated opportunity of the COVID-19 pandemic was the almost immediate adoption of online/in person worship in a large percentage of Episcopal churches. In early 2020, because of government mandated lockdowns, churches chose Facebook, YouTube, Zoom and other modalities of online streaming as a way of continuing to worship. Many continue these practices today.

While the initial benefit may have been to gather the community that would have otherwise been physically present together, online, along with those members who because of geographical relocation had been unable to physically attend services, it was soon discovered that there was an additional benefit of making the worshipping community available to those in elder care locations, those with mental illness and those with mobility challenges and/or disabilities. The church found a new way to be the church, yet not all churches had ways to provide these streaming/online options.

As we gain some distance on the early days of the pandemic it is appropriate to ask ourselves if we are making the most of the resources we have, who has been left behind and what we might do better as we continue to share the love of God and build the Beloved Community.

This resolution would direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to identify models of hybrid online/in person worship that could be shared throughout the wider church. These resources would be reflective of budgetary limitations, bandwidth variations and overall user abilities. A task force would make these resources available on the episcopalcommonprayer.org