Circuit Riding and the Incarnation, 2020 style

When I first became a Methodist minister (in the United Methodist Church), I had a two-point charge, so I was technically a circuit rider.  For three years, I rode down highway 701 in Johnston County at least twice a week between Corinth and Antioch (such Pauline names for churches) to preach, teach, baptize, celebrate communion, marry, and bury.  All the appointments I had after that were in station churches, and I suppose I thought my circuit riding days were over, especially since my most recent stint in parish ministry was at a Presbyterian church.  But the Spirit was nudging me in another direction, very subtly at first and then with something more like a shove than a nudge, and I find myself part of a circuit again, with primary pastoral charge of three churches in that circuit. 

I have to admit that moving across the Atlantic during a pandemic isn't exactly the sanest action I've ever taken, and since I don't have a car and actually haven't ever driven in the UK, my circuit riding looks a bit different.  If I have to be somewhere in person, I take a bus or take an Uber to my destination.  That's the exception more than the rule, however.  More often than not, my interactions with my parishioners take place over Zoom or via email and occasionally, even by using that archaic form of technology known as a telephone.  Two of my three churches have decided not to return to in-person worship for a while; the other will be discussing that at length next week.  There are so many things to take into consideration, but above all, we are seeking to love our neighbor as we love ourselves and to follow the first of Wesley's General Rules, to do no harm.

Each of these churches is  quite different from the others.  It's like having three children who have their own personalities, their own preferences, their own way of doing things, and their own creative ideas about how best to worship God.  It's exciting, it's challenging, and it's especially interesting in these corona-times.  I am learning new things every single day about what it is to be a Christian in three very different communities in a country very different from my own.  It can be a bit overwhelming, and sometimes I visualize myself as a dog paddling madly with its nose just inches above the water.  Some things will settle down as I get to know people and understand how the churches operate, but the weirdness of the pandemic means that we are still in for quite a wild ride for some time to come.  

We can't predict when we will be able to safely gather for worship in ways that include singing our favorite hymns and drinking tea and coffee afterwards, and with Advent and Christmas on the horizon, we are going to have to be really creative in figuring out how to preserve beloved traditions along with finding new ways to celebrate the Incarnation.  It's enough to make my head spin, but I take comfort in remembering our legacy as the people called Methodists, which by definition means that we seek to bring the gospel to as many people as we can in as many ways as we can.  

As I reflect on the difficulties that lie ahead as we contemplate the holidays, a thought floated into my mind and firmly lodged there -- Christmas isn't canceled.  Yes, it will be different.  No, it won't include many of the things we've grown to treasure.  But no matter how many things we can't do, there is so much that we can do if we aren't afraid to be innovative in how we live out and share our faith.  The first Christmas didn't exactly go according to plan -- what pregnant woman envisions giving birth surrounded by farm animals? and the beloved carol "Silent Night" has its origins in the breakdown of an organ and the substitution of a guitar, or so the story goes, so maybe this is just par for the course.  Circuit riding during the pandemic and Christmas in the corona-times may strain our imaginations to the breaking point, but at the heart of the Christian faith is the conviction that our loving and gracious God is with us, and as Mr. Wesley reminds us with his deathbed words, that is the best of all, whether one is circuit riding using a horse or an unstable internet connection or celebrating a picture-perfect candlelit communion surrounded by family and friends.  And that is good news of great joy that is for all the people!

 (Each church building is represented in these three pictures)