Churches Opening During Crisis?

[Lamb]

I saw a meme (surprise?) the other day that said something about how churches should be forced to open their doors up to people during a crisis or they're just considered another business.

What do you think about this?

Not all churches are created equal and some struggle to pay the electric/gas bills so I can understand why the smaller ones couldn't afford to remain open. Besides that, you'd have to think about the toilet paper people would go through, and who would keep the place clean and sanitized? Do you hire someone? My church is all older people who couldn't possibly clean up after hundreds of people.

I guess I really took offense by the meme because it was meant to be offensive. YOU HAVE TO DO THIS OR ELSE is pretty much what it's saying.

What about your church? Could it be prepared to house people in a crisis for more than a few hours?

 

[tango]

Housing people is all well and good but comes with so many challenges over and above the cost of utilities and cleaning.

As soon as you're giving people somewhere to sleep you have to consider suitable segregation, with associated complications regarding possibly having to separate families. What do you do if, say, a single father and his 6-year-old daughter need a safe space to sleep? Do you separate them, put the girl in the mens' bedroom or put Dad in the ladies' bedroom? And that's before you start trying to deal with people who are visibly one gender but say they identify as another.

Do rooms have adequate privacy for changing and sleeping? Part of protecting children from abuse is removing opportunities for abuse to take place, which means reducing or removing privacy from places that don't need it. When every room has windows it makes it harder to abuse a child because you don't have the seclusion of a closed space. But that provision to protect children makes the space less suitable for people who actually have a need for privacy.

If you start trying to shelter people you also have to consider whether someone needs shelter from someone else. A battered wife fleeing her abusive husband is unlikely to be helped much by seeing him walk in the door seeking shelter. Do you throw one of them out in the cold? Before throwing the husband out in the cold to fend for himself, should you verify his wife's story? Maybe she is the abusive one and making up a story to try and finish him off. Or do you let them both in, and hope nothing horrendous happens overnight when you're down to maybe a couple of elderly volunteers supervising?

If we absolutely had to house people at our church I think we probably could but it's hard to imagine it being very pretty. Prettier than leaving people to literally freeze to death outside but that's probably about all it has going for it.

 

[Lamb]

I think a lot of people who expect the church to provide for their needs (those who aren't Christian) don't really realize all the things you've listed above @tango in considering what happens when a crowd appears. Not many churches are prepared to meet the needs in a crisis because the church's goal isn't to be a hotel but instead a hospital for sinners needing a Savior.

 

[mailmandan]

I think a lot of people who expect the church to provide for their needs (those who aren't Christian) don't really realize all the things you've listed above @tango in considering what happens when a crowd appears. Not many churches are prepared to meet the needs in a crisis because the church's goal isn't to be a hotel but instead a hospital for sinners needing a Savior.

Well said. I once visited a church in which the Pastor stated, "the church should be a hospital for sinners and not a country club for saints."

 

[Lamb]

Well said. I once visited a church in which the Pastor stated, "the church should be a hospital for sinners and not a country club for saints."

I have heard some people say that...except that we are saints in Christ

 

[tango]

I have heard some people say that...except that we are saints in Christ

True, except when the church turns into a country club it loses sight of the primary mission. I like the saying that the church is the only organisation that exists primarily for the benefit of non-members.

 

[Lamb]

True, except when the church turns into a country club it loses sight of the primary mission. I like the saying that the church is the only organisation that exists primarily for the benefit of non-members.

I disagree with that. Lutherans have what is called The Divine Service and it means that God is serving us with His Word and Sacrament. He feeds us in the service so that's definitely for members!

 

[tango]

I disagree with that. Lutherans have what is called The Divine Service and it means that God is serving us with His Word and Sacrament. He feeds us in the service so that's definitely for members!

I remember years ago a family friend described the church as being like a group of people standing in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, facing inwards. When the church looks like that to those on the outside I would say they have lost their way completely, even if they do share the word and sacraments.

To be clear, the two aren't mutually exclusive - it's perfectly possible to have the word and sacraments and also do a lot of outreach. It's also possible to do lots of outreach and then not offer anything meaningful to those who are drawn in. My church recently gained a couple of new regulars who left the local Lutheran church because, in their words, they just weren't being fed there.

 

[Forgiven1]

Some churches have the ability and the plans to do it. Shouldn't be forced. A few years ago, after Hurricane Harvey, many churches did open their doors to volunteers who traveled here to help with the cleanup. They did so voluntarily and recognized the service being done following the disaster.