Opinion: Blame COVID, but we’ve lost something by not worshipping in person

I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that when the COVID pandemic hit our country and shut down almost everything while closing us off from friends and loved ones, it left an open wound that has yet to heal. It seems that we are still struggling to get back to our “normal.”

Normal for me included worshipping every Sunday with my church family and again on Bible study night. For a long while during the COVID shutdown, those worship times were replaced with services via Zoom and online preaching. Even after things started opening again and people started going out, mingling and even traveling without their masks, it just wasn’t the same. It seemed to me that being isolated for so many months made us kind of lazy. Staying home and going to church via Zoom or online became the norm. This has resulted in the closure of some churches, and according to some statistics, over the next decade the decline in church closures is expected to continue.

Church closures are sad news for people like me, who enjoy attending church, fellowshipping with my sisters and brothers and hearing a good sermon that will help me navigate the problems I am sure to face in the coming week. I love leaving church feeling like my soul has just had a good, hot shower.

The church, as I know it, has always been the center of my community. In the Christian tradition, church was not only the place we “found” the Lord, it was also where we got married and dedicated our children and buried our deceased. It was where the downtrodden found solace and a hot meal and a clean set of clothes. Church was where we Blacks looked forward to going after having experienced a grueling week of injustice. It was a special place. For behind the walls of our sanctuaries, be they great cathedrals made of bricks or humble buildings made of wood, “going to church” seemed to make us better people; better able to cope.

Battling COVID caused us to get used to being alone. I can’t place all the blame of declining churchgoing on the pandemic. Physical churchgoing had slacked long before COVID. While I am thankful for the television services that have comforted many a home-bound soul, including my late mother, a lot of people used TV church services as an excuse to stay home.

The other culprit is the cell phone. For too many of us our cell phones have become our closest companion. We don’t seem to need each other as much anymore. So, going to church and fellowshipping with fellow worshippers isn’t nearly as important today as it used to be. Because of this, we have lost the need to interact with each other, and we seem to be moving rapidly toward a world filled with people without natural affection. That makes me sad. And it’s scary, too.

I am not saying that going to church or the synagogue or the mosque will heal all our ills. Simply walking into a holy house won’t do it. People have got to want to be healed to be healed.

I am saying that when decent people are held accountable for our actions, we will find ways to do better. Holding us accountable is what the teaching at our houses of worship does for us. This nation has never been perfect. But I give it a “B” for trying. I believe that it’s the teaching we received from devout men and women of God that has helped this nation to try to right its many wrongs. We have had many stumbling blocks hurled in our pathway. Yet, it is what some of us learned in our houses of worship — to do unto others as you would have them do unto you — that has nudged us on and kept us moving in the right direction.

Perhaps you think I am thinking too far outside the box. I don’t think so. Maybe attending a house of worship isn’t your thing. There are other ways to interact with others. Become a volunteer or mentor a child. Visit the elderly neighbor down the street. I believe the lack of fellowship with other individuals will cause us to become hard and angry. We will be less compassionate and kind.

How else do you explain the rise in road rage? It used to be that if a person was daydreaming (or texting) at a red light and was hesitant to move when the light turned green, the person in the car behind him/her could tap the horn and that would wake up the driver at the light, and he would move on.

Not so, nowadays. Tapping your horn at a person sitting at the stop light after it has turned green could cost you your life. And in some cases, it has.

So, how do we fix this? I don’t have all the answers. I can only tell you what works for me. I find that having an attitude of gratitude (as cliched as it sounds) is a great way to start the fix. Since we are now in a season of gratitude, why not start today? Each one of us can start at home — with our self. We know us. We know how we feel about things and about each other.

I have found that when I start my day with a heart filled with gratitude, my world looks brighter. I don’t care what I am going through or what could be around the corner waiting to defeat me, being thankful overshadows my problems. And I am a winner; a better person because I am thankful.

You say people don’t seem to be as friendly as they used to be. I say, you be the one who shows friendliness. Smile at someone. I mean really smile. You will find that you will still be smiling long after you have walked away. More than that, your smile probably made that person’s day.

Life is hard enough. We don’t have to be at war with each other. Let’s get back to building our village, the place where we look out for each other and each other’s children. Without our village, our children are missing out on something that is rich and wonderful. Our houses of worship are a big part of our village. I hope to see you there.