The day finally arrived. After nearly two months, Trinity@Bangkok resumes onsite services.
By Kristine Lee
When Trinity@Bangkok met for onsite services on Mar 22 this year, it was the last onsite service for an unforeseeable future. To curb the spread of COVID-19, the Thai government embarked on a partial lockdown of Bangkok that quickly included the cessation of religious gatherings. As the pandemic dragged on, so did the restrictions.
But thankfully, God had already prepared Trinity@Bangkok so well for the disruption that, in Center Pastor Steven Tay's words, "there were no major concerns".
The Connect Group was already in a LINE chat group. Moving the Connect Group meetings to the online platform was not difficult for these digital natives. "Pastor Margaret and I were already connecting and nurturing individuals one-to-one directly. That just continued after the onsite services shut down, albeit via LINE video rather than face to face," Pastor Steven shared.
Trinity@Bangkok started a Facebook Watch party for online services streamed live from Singapore. They held their own pre-service prayer and announcements. "Those who were regular in church onsite were regular in church online too. The congregation did not miss out on connecting, spiritual feeding and nurturing. There was no frequency change. Just a platform change," added Pastor Steven.
But of course, it still differs from meeting everyone together onsite. "Unlike onsite services, there is no catch up with one another after the online service," Pastor Steven explained. So everyone was looking forward to coming back to worship onsite together.
There were a few precautionary measures to implement for the onsite services, as per the government's advisory. These included registration for contact tracing, wearing of face masks, social distancing, and making hand sanitizers available. "Everything went very smoothly," Pastor Steven commented.
On Pentecost Sunday, May 31, Trinity@Bangkok reopened for services onsite. Judging from the comments of the congregation, the joy of being able to worship onsite again outweighed any inconveniences!
Reflect & Respond
What can you thank God for whilst waiting in anticipation for onsite services to resume?
How can you posture your heart to worship God, whether onsite or online?
How can you continue to stay connected to your spiritual family and God, social distancing or not?
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