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Reflections on Reopening

 This Sunday, my church had its first service in the sanctuary in over a year. There are quite a few restrictions we need to follow, such as wearing masks the entire service, using only every other pew, not singing, and not passing out bulletins or the offering plate. Admittedly, I'm not thrilled with the restrictions, especially since the people at my temporary church home have been unmasked and singing with abandon for months. However, it was worth it to me to be around my church family even if it meant dealing with a little inconvenience.

While the restrictions are a bit frustrating, there was a certain beauty to be found in them as well. Without having the bulletin, I was less focused on what came next and more on what was currently happening. I also feel like the absence of them made for a more intimate service, despite the distance between congregants. Not singing allowed me to really listen to the words of the songs. (Admittedly, I did mouth along with the words for one song. I know that song so well and love it so much that I couldn't just sit there without doing something.)

I did notice a bit of cynicism creeping in while listening to the sermon, The pastor was talking about how we had to wait to reopen, and now that we are open again, we have to wait to sing again, remove our masks, and resume some of our traditions. Since I don't feel we should have waited this long and be restricted this much, I found myself growing a little annoyed, especially considering that I have been attending an unhindered church across town for months with no problems. Following the service, I prayed about my reaction a bit, and I began to realize that I was feeling that way in part because I miss everyone at my temporary church home. Even though I'm glad to once again be worshipping in the church where I grew up, I'm sad that I no longer get to see the new friends I made in the past nine months. I'll almost certainly need to go back and visit every once in a while.

The reopening has been bittersweet. Bitter because it didn't happen sooner, there are more restrictions than I think are necessary, and I'm missing my temporary church family. Sweet because I missed worshipping with my church family and the traditions I was used to. While this past year was a struggle, I'm thankful that God provided me with a temporary church family to help me get through it, and I'm thankful now to be back with the church family I grew up in.

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