Many were horrified to hear the members and Rabbi of the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, who were held captive as they prepared for Shabbat.
They had already started the livestream of the service when a man came to the door and was greeted. It turned out he was there to hold the members hostage and make demands.
After 11 hours, Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walke distracted the terrorist and the hostages escaped. I am very grateful for the work of law enforcement during this scary time.
One of the synagogue members was watching the service at home when the event happened. They could not see – but could hear – the conversations. The livestream continued and this must have been invaluable to law enforcement as they listened and handled the situation.
Streaming worship services became a necessity because of COVID and is here to stay. We streamed our first service on Facebook with a cell phone March 24, 2019 and we have not looked back.
It was rough. I felt like Will Stockdale in “No Time For Sergeants” spitting and saying hello into the aircraft radio.
“Hello, hello, howdy!”
Soon, we moved to a Canon camera and PC laptop. Next, we are working on having multiple cameras in the sanctuary.
Along the way, we have learned by trial and error and a number of kind folks have helped us with both the technology and worship.
A number of our local faith communities offer online worship services. I applaud them for their efforts. You may watch live or log on later in the week. Most are on the church’s Facebook page and a few you can find links on the church’s web page: Bear Creek, Blessed Hope, Grace Tabernacle, First Baptist, New Hope. Panther Creek, Stecoah and Sweetgum baptist churches and Robbinsville United Methodist Church.
One of the challenges for our area is the struggle we have with broadband Internet. Not everyone has Internet service and those who do may have very poor service. More than once, our live stream dropped due to weak internet signals. Hopefully, broadband in our area will improve in the future.
The pandemic and other problems continue to harass us. I give thanks for all those who continue to offer hope and the Good News in any way available.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.