Zooming for God
Commemorating the Jewish New Year, Annapolis rabbi delivers sermons virtually
As Jewsworldwide begin commemorating ourNewYear 5781, I am sharply reminded that our HighHolidays are not just for us.
During theweek between RoshHashanah and YomKippur, we engage in intense selfreflection, figuring out howto become better, more righteous people.
HoweverGod fits into your life, we can all agree that right now, more than ever, we need aNew Year, to enlarge our capacity for love and redemption. We need now, more than ever, to embrace hope and faith to give us stability in unrelenting chaos.
As is prevalent in mosques and churches during the pandemic, our services will be streaming online and on Zoom. We will listen to the 6-foot-6 Rabbi Ari Goldstein deliver sermons to a cavernous and empty sanctuary, hear readings fromthe Torah and give our own thanks to God, screen to screen.
Iwill miss being surrounded by the nearly 700 people who gather together during these holiest of days. I will miss the hugs and the group singing, which does notwork well in online gatherings. Though the Annapolis Chorale that leads the chorus every year, will be broadcast live as they perform outdoors.
Goldstein has conducted online services virtually for going on seven months, in a large sanctuary that nowresounds only with the boom of his own deep voice,
“It does get lonely – so much of our religion is based on the interactions in the community, and that’s the hardest part,” Goldstein starts out. “It helps when I can see dozens of faces that fill Zoom screens, and we can all feel the genuine connection. People need this communal and religious engagement more so in these times. With technology, this sense of community is more accessible than ever, particularly for older people.
“You don’t have to drive,” he continues. “You can drink a cup of coffee for a morning service, or eat your dinner during Friday night services. I expect during our High Holidayweekwe will have hundreds ofworshippers together, huddled with their families or joining family members in different states. As religious leaders, we have tried to make the most of these unique circumstances. For example, we are doing a drive-up Shofar service as away of getting safely together, honking our horns and blowing shofars.”
LikeGoldstein, Stephen Tillett, pastor of the Asbury Broadneck UnitedMethodist Church, has become seasoned in bringing God into the Zoom room. Tillett considers the challenges facing his predominantly African-American congregation two-fold.
“With covid and the ongoing pandemic of racism and classicism, we are living a dual-pandemic,” says Tillett, who has connected with his flock throughout the entire quarantine on a computer in his home office, during Sunday services and a daily prayer call.
“In times of a double pandemic, our people need faith more than ever. I am so gratefulwe are able to bring community to people who are alone and lonely.
“If you’re sheltering in place with kids and grandkids, it’s far less lonely,” adds Tillett. “If you’rewidowed or single, our services are a lifeline for people feeling isolated and depressed. Meeting online, the intimacy seems almost stronger over the past six months, as people are sharing deep and personal things theymay not be sharing in person. When you go to church in person, often it’s just a quick hello and a hug. Asmy Jewish friends celebrate theNewYear, for us it has felt like aNewYear every day. People of all faiths are hungry for spiritual nutrition, aswe face together big challenges and a need for a dependence on God.”
Goldstein often shares thisNew Year reading, a message for all people who are compelled to join in our season of transformation, to be bolstered by faith and to start anew.
Nowis the time for turning. The leaves are beginning to turn from green to red and orange. The birds are beginning to turn and are heading, once more, towards the South. The animals are beginning to turn and are storing their food for the winter
For leaves, birds, and animals, turning comes instinctively. But for us, turning does not come so easily. It takes an act of will for us to make a turn. It means breaking with old habits. It means admitting thatwe have been wrong; and this is never easy. Itmeans starting over again; and this is always painful. It means saying, “I amsorry.”
These things are terribly hard to do. But, unlesswe turn, we will be trapped forever in yesterday’sways.