New City's Perspective Regarding COVID-19
PERSPECTIVE FOR OUR CONGREGATION
Worship of the Triune God is the reason New City exists. By God’s grace, we have been set apart as a people to worship Him. There is no higher calling for a human being who is made in God’s image than to bring him praise and worship. We confess that our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
Worship finds its fullest expression in the Church. It is in corporate worship where every week the Lord himself invites us into His presence. There, He dwells with us, His covenant people. He welcomes us, He assures us of our pardon, He hears our prayers, He speaks to us from his Living Word, He washes us in the waters of baptism, and He feeds us at His table. This is why public worship on the Lord’s Day is the lifeblood of New City.
As we entered 2020, we eagerly anticipated moving into our new building and writing a new chapter in the story of New City. At that time, phrases like “COVID-19” and “social distancing” were not in our vocabulary. And yet, in His good and wise providence, God has had different plans for 2020. From our perspective, 2020 has unexpectedly been a year of pandemics, lockdowns, physical separation, economic struggles, and divisive politics. In many ways, it has been an exhausting year – mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Unlike the world, we remain united as the Body of Christ. This unity is not a superficial unity or a unity based on race, sex, ethnicity, politics, or common interests. It is a genuine unity – with each other and with Christ – from the Father, by the Son, and through the Spirit, that will last into eternity.
Despite this unity, the Church is still entangled with controversies that threaten to divide. The Apostle Paul addressed the contentious issue of Christians eating food that had been sacrificed to idols. Some Christians felt at ease eating this food, while others felt the food was defiled and were bound by their consciences to abstain. The question “to eat or not to eat” was a real controversy that caused real division between these groups and was causing some to stumble in their faith. The Apostle Paul addressed this problem not by deciding which group was “right” but reminding these groups to build each other up in love. Food was not the issue. The issue was to not burden another Christian’s conscience and cause them to stumble.
In the Bible, we read about giving up our rights to bear each other’s burdens and to build each other up in love. We know there are a variety of opinions about COVID-19 that touch on political, social, medical, and theological issues. While we encourage New City members to be discerning and form their own views on these matters, we know that contentious issues like these, when there is no love, will rip a church apart.
We are a house of prayer for all peoples. The urgent need for members of New City, for our new neighbors in Ferndale, and for our neighbors, friends and co-workers all throughout the Detroit region, is to hear the good news of a Savior who came to rescue us from the chaos and destruction of sin. If nothing else, this season of COVID-19 has revealed and continues to reveal humanity’s desperate need for a Savior.
If there is any stumbling block at New City, it should never be our personalities or politics, but only the offense of the Cross. Though we may have different views on the many issues related to COVID-19, we confess the same Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins and was raised for our justification. And this same Lord Jesus died and was raised for the brother or sister who may take a different view of things. Satan and the spirit of this present evil age would have us descend into tribalism, factions, and dissentions. The Spirit of Christ would have us unite around our One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.
Eventually the issue of masks and social distancing will fade away. Many things about this season of COVID-19 will be a distant memory. But one thing that will endure, particularly in this new chapter of the story of New City, is how well we loved each other in these trying times. Our greatest hope and prayer is that God would preserve New City in the Spirit of true Christian peace.
View the list of practical plans and guidelines that we will follow once we enter our new building here.
New City COVID-19 Strategy Team – September, 2020