Weathering the Pandemic with RAC
Reconciliation Anglican Church has elected to suspend public worship until such a time as we can safely, responsibly, and consistently administer Communion to all who desire to receive it from our Altar.
These are difficult times for everybody, and every group is making different decisions for different reasons to try to balance the concerns of public health for the fundamental needs we have to gather, minister to one another in person, and participate in forming and life-giving acts of worship.
At Reconciliation Anglican Church, we have elected to suspend all public worship, until such a time as we can safely, responsibly, and consistently administer the Sacrament of Holy Communion to all who desire to receive it from our Altar. Three considerations have led us to this conclusion: (1) the direction of our Diocesan leadership, (2) the size, stage, and make up of our community, and (3) our core theological convictions about the embodied, sacramental character of worship.
Diocesan Direction
Bishop Ken and our Diocesan leadership have been a gift to us and a tremendous encouragement, giving us direction that is both pastoral and practical, gentle and clear, grounded in our responsibility to the Church and to our communities, yet flexible for adaptation to our local circumstances.
Community Considerations
Our community is new and small, and it has been relatively efficient and easy to ensure that all people are connected with the pastoral care that they need through (1) private prayer and conversation in one-on-one and small group settings, (2) our connection to the online presence of more established churches in the Diocese, such as Advent Anglican, and (3) existing connections with other congregations and communities locally. We continue to be adaptive and flexible as other pastoral needs arise.
Theological Considerations
It is worth giving extended attention to (3), as this mode of considering Christian worship is different from many other traditions. For this purpose, we commend to those who are interested the Diocesan theological guidance, A Community Meal, for which Fr. Nathaniel served as a contributor.
These are challenging times: we all feel grief over the loss of normalcy and the disruption of our normal patterns, and for those of us who have been formed by the rhythms of the Eucharist, the loss of the Sacrament is perhaps the most acute, most painful of all. But we encourage one another to lean into this challenging discipline. Although we cannot partake together at the Altar, Christ is not absent from us: and what a joy it will be when the Lord provides for us to come together again!
In the meantime, here is a prayer for this season, especially appropriate for when we face and feel the pangs of this absence:
A Prayer for Spiritual Communion
Dear Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Holy Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I desire to possess you within my soul. And since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, I beseech you to come spiritually into my heart. I unite myself to you, together with all your faithful people gathered around every altar of your Church, and I embrace you with all the affections of my soul. Never permit me to be separated from you.
