I had a very nice invitation the middle of last week to fill in for a vespers service for a small church tomorrow. Since I’m not preaching these days, I was happy to be invited but asked . . . “what about the snow?”
They canceled, and I’m getting on the schedule. But it begs the question:
Which religious services will be open this weekend? This list, from WTOP Radio, rules out many of the synagogues and Adventist churches (understandable since the blizzard will be running neatly over the sabbath) but I wonder if other churches are holding out for more news, or have decided and are just not getting the word out. Please be clear about your opening policies, particularly in big, clear letters on your website.
If you’re in a position of leadership and haven’t decided, consider this. Some of my nicest experiences of worship have been at a church I don’t normally attend because the one I would attend is inaccessible, and bad weather certainly counts. Like the time several winters ago when we closed at my former pastorate and so I — living near the church anyway — wandered down a few more blocks and joined the remnant of First Baptist. They even took in two new members that day! Many of the twenty or thirty or so of us — less than 5% of the usual congregation — decamped to a local diner for lunch. A great experience of hospitality and a thought for those thinking, “none of our people will show up.”
Blizzards filled with wonderful chance encounters like this… You folks in DC just don’t have enough of them to appreciate the nice side to otherwise nasty weather.