It is not often that I ever cancel worship due to inclement weather. This past weekend was an exception to that rule. When one can check radar apps and see a storm system cover 4-5 states to our west and know that system is headed our direction, chances are something is coming no matter what the local weather channel is announcing.
In the past I have walked in snow to worship, choosing to gather with the determined few who are always going to leave their homes anyway, so why not meet them at church? Two years ago we did just that and then had an impromptu “sermon slam” on fb live that proved to be a lot of fun.
This year, at the prompting of our tech team known fondly as “God’s Geek Squad,” we decided to pre-record worship on Saturday before the storm scheduled to begin early Sunday morning. The video above was the result. We live streamed the recording at both 9AM and 11AM the next day, including an additional live stream to FB. I was able to interact online with those streaming in real time in our chat room and in the comment section on FB. Our live stream was watched in 4 countries with 130 unique connections. We also had well over another 100 live streaming from facebook, not to mention the thousands of views that it then received after the feed remained posted.
All that to say … inclement weather can pose challenges, but it can also provide wonderful opportunities to experiment, connect, and playfully engage in other mediums for worship and reflection. Here are a few photos from our congregational watch party that were shared with us afterward.
G. Kevin Baker 
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