By Chrissy Coblentz, Parish Administrator at Christ the King, Birmingham, AL
Our family, some still in pajamas, congregated together in our living room at 9:50 AM. We searched up Christ the King’s Sunday morning live stream through our Roku via YouTube. We were greeted with our loving rector, Father Michael Novonty in our beloved sanctuary and chancel, adorned with the dark purple color of Lent. It was strange, and maybe a little awkward, yet comforting to look into our familiar worship space from afar.
My husband and I decided ahead of time that we would be fully engaged, therefore setting the tone in our home for our children. As we gave into worshiping our God, the barriers and distance and technology seemed to disappear. We saw familiar faces and heard familiar voices. We said the liturgy we know by heart. We knelt, stood, and sang. My teenager and tween were engaged. My five year old jumped on the couch saying, “There’s Father Michael! There’s Mr. Ben!” Afterwards, we hopped to the van and drove to the church building to receive drive-thru communion, which was still just as meaningful and beautiful as ever — maybe even more stark than usual.
We then kept our tradition of eating out on Sundays by grabbing a take-out meal at a local restaurant. In the end, we kept Sunday a sacred day. This day would not blend into one long day like the previous days seemed to. In spaces that might normally be used for entertainment and entertaining, on this day they became makeshift naves and we worshiped our God in Spirit and in Truth, still with some of those familiar faces and still together as a family.