Asking the Clergy: Why should people attend worship in-person?

Last year one third of U.S. adults watched religious services online or on TV, many opting for virtual attendance for the first time, according to a Pew Research Center survey. However, many expect to return to the pews when the pandemic is over, according to the survey. This week’s clergy discuss the virtues of in-person vs. virtual attendance.

The Rev. Jude Geiger

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington

In these days of COVID-19, we’re quickly realizing that, moving forward, worship will surely be multiplatform, with some attending in person, some via online streaming media, some via Zoom. What began as a strategy to keep us together as best as possible during the pandemic has revealed the needs of worshippers we were missing before: the homebound, the ill, those traveling for work or school. And yet, this coming together by whatever means is the real act of worship: Communion.

In our modern day, this may be the only hour of the week in which all ages interact. Worship reminds us we are multigenerational; that we have a purpose beyond the schedules and the routines.

In my congregation, it’s a key part in developing mentorships between the generations, and ensuring the wisdom of one age gets passed on to the next, and in the other direction as well. The common purpose, the common intention, of worship creates a foundation for rich relationships over a lifetime. The commonality of it gives a chance for friendships to form that otherwise would not have and brings people out and into community for the public good. And that is holy work.

The Rev. Wendy C. Modeste

Pastor, United Methodist Church of Bay Shore

Attending worship service is essential to how we live out our faith in the world, "how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10:24-25)

We strengthen and encourage each other with our God-given gifts when we come together. The apostle Paul writes that Jesus himself has given to the members of the church different types of spiritual gifts "to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may become mature." (Ephesians 4:12-13)

As Christians, we are not meant to live in isolation because we are the body of Christ — his hands, eyes, feet and head. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need for you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." (I Corinthians 12:21) The body needs all its parts to function effectively. Each one is important to the building and functioning of the church. Our faith is strengthened when we gather as the body of Christ. We are God's family, and we cannot grow without the other — we are one body. "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." (I Corinthians 12:26)

Rabbi Neil Schuman

Manetto Hill Jewish Center, Plainview

The same question could be asked of live sporting events, concerts and rallies where there’s an electricity, a power of the masses that one feels deeply, that cannot be replicated watching from home. Similarly, joining family and friends in prayer multiplies the spiritual experience, lightens our burdens and can inspire us as we experience others’ personal devotion.

My favorite part of in-person services is singing together. Joining in with hundreds of friends and family, praising God and connecting with our heritage is uplifting and stirs our soul. The High Holidays are special for me. My clergy peers and I work for months planning our speeches. We try to reach back thousands of years into our foundation, finding kernels of truth and light to transform into novel and relevant modern-day messages. There’s a transfer of knowledge and passion between speaker and listener. By being there, through the bond of eye-to-eye contact, the mission for the upcoming year is profoundly absorbed.

This year, with the rise of the delta variant, many will not and should not attend in-person services. However, a streaming service can still leave one inspired, and with the proper precautions, in-person services will be safe for all.