Before proceeding, let's review some details about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination.
Here is the link to the denomination's website [link].
Based on my research, it is likely that this denomination will disappear in a few years. I have not said this about other churches we have visited, but I do believe it will be the case with this denomination. In 2008, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) had about 680,000 baptized members. By 2018, the number was about 380,000, a nearly 50% decline in a single decade. Even with 380,000 members in 2018, only 125,000 people attended a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) service in the US and Canada on an average Sunday.
Based on what we saw, countermeasures against Covid-19 will likely drive the denomination into an even deeper numerical decline.
Of note, this is the denomination that Beth's mother grew up in, so there is a special connection for us. Barbara Harris, my mother-in-law, grew up First Christian Church of Williamston, North Carolina. As such, this First Christian Church in Charlotte has occupied a place of curiosity in Beth's mind for years.
When we arrived, we were first greeted by a sign with Micah 6:8 on it. The sign was also adorned with a rainbow, likely indicating that it is an open and affirming congregation for LGBT people. In addition to this banner, there was a banner for the aforementioned Dilworth Soup Kitchen.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
On the banner, this verse was reduced to three sentences, with no explicit reference to God.
Do Justice.
Love Kindness.
Walk Humbly.
As we entered the church, we were greeted by two congregants who were standing with the Reverend Jolin Wilks McElroy. She agreed to touch elbows with us and the church promptly provided us with masks. The greeting was warm, and we were reminded of the differences between congregations when it comes to Covid-19 countermeasures. We had just attended church at Freedom House where the worship service was... let's just say it was definitively less oriented toward Covid-19 precautions.
We sat in the sanctuary waiting for the service to start, which was both streaming and in-person. The number of people in physical attendance was around twenty. Everyone was masked, and every other pew was taped off. In the pews that were open, there were plastic swimming pool noodles that ensured everyone sat far apart from each other.
We went through the entire forty-five minute service and reflected afterwards that there were multiple dimensions of the worship that were pleasing to us.
First, it was quiet. So little in the world today is characterized by quietness, that was really nice.
Secondly, the piano music was enjoyable. We heard familiar hymns that are disappearing out of the collective Protestant ethos of America. They were comforting.
Finally, we took communion and they also sang the doxology at the end of the service. This attention to liturgical practice felt very familiar.
In short, the service felt very nostalgic to us. First Christian Church is very similar to the kind of churches that we both grew up in.
The congregation clearly skews older. The average attendee was probably seventy-five years old. Because of this demographic reality, there is an abundance of caution related to Covid-19. If it can be described as an overabundance of caution is subject to debate and personal perspective, but I don't believe that there will ever be a service in the future of First Christian Church without masks or social distancing.
Here are some pictures and videos of our visit:
As you can see, most of the music was not in-person, it was pre-recorded. Additionally, the congregation was asked to not sing along during the hymns that were shown from the recordings on the front screens. We also did not sing the doxology. Again, Covid-19 concerns drove that decision.
I believe the lack of singing mapped back to fear of airborne particles. From behind masks. While socially distanced. In a church where most people were very likely already double vaccinated.
The youngest congregant was hunched over for the duration of the service. I looked at him often, thinking he might have been ill. I found out that he was the Reverend Jolin's son and that he was watching a show on his phone the entire duration of the service.
How was the sermon?
Rev. Jolin is a very warm, gentle and kind person. Her sermon was about feeling distance with God. She described that God can feel very distant at times and that the perceived gap between God and humanity can make us feel like we are alone. It can even feel like God is silent.
The bulletin included a message from someone in Germany who was killed in the Holocaust and scrawled a few sentences on the wall. The quote was used to illustrate that a perceived silence of God does not imply that He is not seeing and providing for us at that time.
She mentioned that Jesus is the way that God closes the gap between Divinity and humanity. Jesus is what is needed to make us feel closer to God.
A good message. As always, this was a message that could have absolutely been exactly what someone in attendance needed to hear and Beth coached me to remember this.
The sermon hit a particular note of interest with us this morning in a theological sense. We are in a Life Group at Freedom House that is a study of the Holy Spirit. I also just finished a month of study with the CS Lewis Institute on the Holy Spirit. Because of this, we were in a mind to think about the sermon with a bit more context.
It was of note to me that in describing God as sometimes silent and distant, that Rev. Jolin brought Jesus up as the part of the Godhead that closes that spiritual proximity gap.
This is very true. There may also be something additional to consider.
Here's what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-17:
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (underline mine)
This was Jesus's declaration that after His death, resurrection and ascension, we would be left with direct access to another aspect of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune Godhead that can be with us (Luke 11:13), advocate for us (1 John 2:1), dwell inside of us (1 Corinthians 3:16), as well as free us from slavery and ensure our adoption as children of God (Romans 8:15).
The Holy Spirit did not come up during the sermon, but it occurs to me as an essential part of what we need to experience when we feel that God may feel silent or distant. As can be the case, the Holy Spirit is the aspect of the Godhead that is so very often overlooked and not discussed, but is absolutely essential to understand and experience a fully Christian walk.
After we left, we discussed the experience. It gave us a great deal of food for thought.
I don't know where this church will be in ten or twenty years, but it feels possible that it may not exist at all. Only God knows for sure.
It was an interesting and informative visit to First Christian Church today. We thank First Christian Church for their warm hospitality.
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