Eric Reece
Are things back to the way they were before COVID in the churches of Graham County?
One good sign is the return of Vacation Bible School.
A number of churches held exciting Bible schools this summer. From dinosaurs, Daniel’s Courage, trains and spaceships, the themes abounded. Most – if not all – were held in the evening, with supper included for the families. There are reports of good attendance, fun and games – and most importantly, youth making the decision to follow Jesus!
As soon as the creek is not swollen, I expect there will be a number of baptisms.
Leading up to VBS, some churches held Spring revivals with good attendance.
After a few years, fellowship meals are back and people could not be happier. Table fellowship has always been a ministry of the church.
What could be better than a covered-dish dinner, fellowship meal, or ice-cream social?
Worship attendance is still not what it was before the pandemic. In general, worship attendance had been in decline and the pandemic may have just snowballed the decrease.
One thing that has continued is the practice of streaming worship service online.
Our churches had to adapt quickly and I am thankful for those that took this opportunity to reach out to others over the net.
It is not easy in our area with internet outages and other technical problems.
Yet, I have been told that streaming-worship services are here to stay.
On a positive note, a recent Pew Research Center survey showed most Americans who worship online enjoy the services.
Two-thirds of U.S. adults who regularly stream worship services say they are satisfied with the experience. The top two reasons for worshiping online are convenience and being out-of-town. I imagine watching a worship service you personally connect with is inspiring.
Not long after I was called here, I met Kimberly Vaught, the late manager of Tapoco Lodge. One day she called and stopped by. She wanted to tell me about Tapoco hosting worship services streamed from Elevation Church, a multisite church based in Charlotte. This was before the pandemic and local churches had to learn how to stream and pray the internet signal was strong enough to get past the first pew. Kim was ahead of the time offering a streamed service in the county.
I remember telling Kim this was a great service she was offering those staying at the lodge. Elevation is known for its worship music and community outreach. I had a friend that visited one of their worship sites at a school. When you arrived, the parking attendants offered you ear plugs.
While Kim is no longer with us, I am pleased her vision continues to bless others.
I spoke to our friend, the Rev. G.D. Philips, recently and he is filling in at Tuskeegee Baptist Church on Fontana Road. Rev. Phillips is a faithful servant and this just goes to show you preachers don’t retire; they just go out to pastor.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is the pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.