Connections

 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Psalm 95:6

Thanksgiving week we watched the documentary “The Last Blockbuster” on Netflix. If you remember the excitement of going to pick out a movie, or are old enough to remember renting a VCR this might make you feel warm and fuzzy. The premise of the documentary is the demise of the chain, some bad business decisions and the reasons people think Blockbuster went under. There is certainly coverage about the business side, but the secondary story is one of community and emotion.

The documentary creator/director reminds people of the experience of going to the video store, negotiating and compromising with a date, families getting something for everyone, children taking turns. The underlying message is about getting to know employees at the video store, knowing what people like to watch, asking for advice. This seems funny to a new generation with Netflix, that uses artificial intelligence and data metrics to recommend things for us that are consistent with what we regularly watch on the electronic platform.    

As we watched the documentary, I couldn’t help but think of the similarities with church since COVID. We don’t have to get dressed up, we can do other things during the service, we get a message from the minister, we might be lucky enough to get some music. The entire service is sometimes crafted together and recorded ahead of the actual day of worship. This is the Netflix version.

But I like the Blockbuster version. Getting to church early to see a friend or drop something off for VBS, or towels from the last funeral, or to pick up the next book for Bible study. The tactile things about church are not only communion, and music, and smiles, but they are also the feeling of community. In a time when we have succeeded in leaning on technology as a means to remain connected, I miss the in-person church meeting, the act of stopping during church office hours to drop off or pick up and the “high touch” of bumping into someone after a service who shares with me a bit of their journey…

Prayer: God who taught us to love, help us to remember the joys of worship, the bond of community and the assurance that there are others with our values, desires, and fears. Thank you for giving us ways to stay connected in times of a great pandemic, and for helping us to return to a more familiar time. Amen.

Christi Moock (reprinted from 2021)