Habits … The Pandemic Affected Some of Mine

A habit is defined as …”a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” We all have some. WE usually want to keep our good habits and, where possible, shed our bad habits.

As a former cigarette smoker, even when I knew it was not good for me, breaking that ‘bad’ habit was one of the harder things I ever did. Yet, in 1986 I succeeded in giving up nicotine that had had its grip on me since around 1964. A rough couple of months.

During the COVID pandemic, some old habits (good and bad) had to go and some new ones began. I have been wondering which ones I now need to continue and which ones I need to change.

One of my good habits has been attending church and being around others of my church family. For me, it has been an important habit to continue. Our church is blessed with the ability, and the technology, to livestream our worship and to Zoom some meetings and other events. During 2020, when there was no in-person worship services, my habit was to tune in to the livestreamed Sunday morning worship services. It was great to be able to feel as though I was worshiping with others, even though we were not actually together.

Once in-person worship began again, about a year ago, I was able to change the habit of worshiping in the comfort of my own home and gather again with members of this church family. This personal connectedness is something I feel I need in my Christian life, although I am aware it may not be so for others. I realize that in-person events still pose some health threats to some people and I remain very thankful our church can, and does, continue to offer virtual worship along with worship services that are available after-the-fact (recorded) for people who cannot, or prefer not to, be there in person. Not all churches have those options and many churches certainly don’t do it with high quality technical savvy as FPCV does.

A big THANK YOU to our “technical” team and iEngage for making that possible at FPCV.

Still, for me, Easter Sunday with a church full of bodies and the Bell Choir, the Adult Choir and the congregation joining in making a ‘joyful noise’… that was a special experience.

Is attending church a habit? Does it matter if attendance is in-person or virtual? Like everything else, it is a personal choice and what works for one may not work for all. For those who prefer in-person worship and are able to be at church in person, I look forward to seeing you more often. For those who are unable to attend in person but can be in worship virtually, let us be thankful that such an option is available. I personally think attending church …whether in person or virtually…is a habit… a good habit we should all try to continue.

As was said multiple times on Easter Sunday…. HE is risen! HE is risen indeed!

Blessings to all,

Jim Hubbard