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Oct 08 2020

Engaging in Life and Ministry “Beyond Covid”

by Steve Matthews

What now? How long? What’s next?  As a country we are in our 8th month of this pandemic. We continue to protest/ explore/ address/ ignore our racial inequities.  The west coast burns, and we round the alphabet on hurricane names in the gulf and Atlantic. Next month we will have a critical election for federal, state, and local leadership… and then there is the Supreme Court. There’s probably more, but suffice it to say, we have our hands more than full.

What does it mean to “be” church in the middle of all of this?  It’s no wonder people yearn to get back into their church buildings and to return to “normal.”  For many of us, these buildings represent a sense of belonging, beauty, safety, hope.  These are places where we have experienced community and God’s love fleshed out.  This is where many of us feel inspired and strengthened for the journey. 

But here we are, and how are we as people of faith called to show up in this “now?” How do we look at our world in ways that help us move beyond reaction?  

[Read more…]

Written by Ken Howard · Categorized: COVID-19, FaithX Blog · Tagged: Coronavirus, COVID-19, ministry beyond covid, pandemic, regathering, reopening, reopening church, reopening in a new reality, sebine selassie, Walter Burghartdt SJ, Webinar

Aug 20 2020

Beyond COVID: Moving forward Together!

by Steve Matthews
Senior Associate Consultant with FaithX

It’s funny how fast our intentions and plans change these days. In a country full of planners and achievers and “do-ers,” there are not a lot of stable structures on which to build our agendas and long-range plans.  Sometimes it’s hard to feel like we are gaining ground because the ground keeps shifting.  We thought COVID-19 would be over by now (or at least under control), yet it is still alive and well in our communities.  Our “normal” lives are still disrupted.  People are still getting sick and dying.  It’s not personal.  The virus is just doing what unchecked viruses do… like all critters, they propagate.

So now what?  Perhaps, it’s time we stop living our lives in reaction to COVID.  We have adapted worship.  We meet on-line.  We gather in church parking lots. We have worked hard to adapt to the ongoing threat. While this pandemic will not last forever, it is here for now.  It is part of our global reality.   

As communities of faith, we could develop a bit of a victim mentality to this impersonal virus.  Even if we don’t acknowledge it, our actions and plans in the age of COVID can be in reaction to the newest threat or perceived threat of this pandemic.  The author and theologian Walter Wink wrote, “The greatest obstacle is simply the belief that we cannot change because we are dependent on what is wrong.  That is the addict’s excuse.”  

[Read more…]

Written by Ken Howard · Categorized: COVID-19, FaithX Blog · Tagged: adapting worship, beyond COVID, COVID, COVID-19, new reality, post-COVID, reopening church

Jul 23 2020

Church in a New Reality: Now What?

by Mary Frances


This post is part of our Keeping Congregations Connected series and includes information on our upcoming webinar: Reopening Church in a New Reality: Re-Visioning in a Changing Context.


We used to say “The more things change, the more things remain the same,” but in 2020, that old saying has been turned on its head.  Today the one thing that remains the same is change. We live in a new reality. Each day we turn on the news or look at our social media feeds to find our way of life challenged as never before.  In the midst of so much change, how do we move forward? How do we think about thriving as the church rather than just surviving?

In the weeks after Covid-19 hit, churches across the country pivoted from in-person worship to online worship in the blink of an eye. I’m not sure the church has ever seen such a rapid change without major resistance! There were no committees, no focus groups, no church council discussions. It just happened. And it was good. Churches adapted to their new reality.

Then we began to address what other essentials needed to change.  Online giving took priority, new ways of doing pastoral care, phone trees were initiated, and members were contacted one by one.  “Are you okay?,” we asked.  “Do you need anything?”  “Can I pray for you?”  All was well.  Congregations were now safely ensconced on Zoom or Facebook Live.  Whew!

[Read more…]

Written by Mary Frances · Categorized: COVID-19, FaithX Blog · Tagged: community engagement, Coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19, COVID19, Keeping Congregations Connected, online fellowship, online worship, outreach, reopening church, small groups, Webinar

Jun 08 2020

Webinar (June 17) – Reopening Church in a New Reality: Re-Visioning in a Changing Context

Reopening Church in a New Reality: Re-Visioning in a Changing Context

6/17/20 (Next Wednesday) | 1:00pm-2:00pm (ET)

Webinar Description:

Before we reopen our congregations in the wake of COVID-19, we have to get clear about the “WHY” of our congregations, so that we may adapt our ministries to the needs of our new contexts without losing our reasons for being. Come and explore with us what needs to change so the really important things can “remain the same.”

This webinar is the first in a 3-part series entitled: Reopening Church in a New Reality. The next two webinars will be:

  • 7/18/20 – Considerations for Leading a Hybrid Congregation (online and in the building)
  • 8/12/20 – Discerning Your Congregation’s Post-COVID Calling

Webinar Hosts:

  • Mary Frances, FaithX Senior Consultant (Host)
  • Steve Matthews, FaithX Senior Consultant (Co-Host)
  • Ken Howard, FaithX Principal Consultant (Co-Host)

For More Info: mary@faithx.net

Click Here to Register

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Written by Ken Howard · Categorized: COVID-19, FaithX Blog, FaithX News · Tagged: Coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19, COVID19, hybrid congregation, ken Howard, Mary Frances, post-COVID, reopening, reopening church, Steve Matthews, Webinar

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