Mainline

As All Saints Day approaches, what's the most important thing to consider as you plan your services?

Rev. Kate Dalton is the lead pastor of First Parish in Yarmouth, Maine, where she leads a team that has worked overtime to ensure members of the congregation remained connected.  I joked with her about the number of great ideas she was sharing, but seriously, this one is full of good information.

As some of us move worship back into our sanctuaries, what have we learned while doing online worship that we'd like to bring into our sanctuaries with us?

Rev. Ginger Isom is the pastor of a small-membership church in Morristown, Tennessee.  Although she is a self-described "Non-Techie," she has embraced the production process for pre-recorded services and hopes to integrate some of these elements into her church's hybrid worship in the weeks ahead.

Rev. Rachel Cornwell is the pastor at Dumbarton United Methodist Church in the Georgetown community of Washington, DC.  She took this new appointment in July of this year after serving as a fundraising consultant for churches and non-profits.  She quickly adapted to a new set of preaching skills in this time of social distancing, and she has much to say about it.

I hope you're encouraging your church to get out and vote!  Elections matter, and this one matters a lot.  No matter which way the election goes, it's nearly certain that the days following the election will be difficult.  Join me for an important webinar on Wednesday, October 14, at 7:30pm ET in which I'll speak with Rev. Rob Schenck of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute.  We'll discuss lessons from history that might prepare us to be stronger pastoral leaders during a treacherous time.

This week is a treat: three gentlemen who work together to get the services of Kern United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, online, where things have moved past survival mode.  Now the church is ready to consider the larger implications of online ministry.

Word spread quickly that Facebook is blocking churches or removing videos of music that was pre-recorded.  I called CCLI, the music licensing company, and my belief that Facebook is inherently unreliable was reinforced by what I heard.

Doug Miller is the media director at Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church in Johnson City, Tennessee.  The church had been streaming its services for years prior to the pandemic, but still decided to retool for a different kind of experience.  This podcast is full of ideas.

Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Washington, DC, a congregation that is setting aside its beautiful neo-Gothic sanctuary for the intimacy of worship in the home.  She reflects on this experience as a new setting for the Holy to emerge in our lives.