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Our own Rev. Stephen Milton recently participated in an interview with Broadview Magazine on the topic of how Covid has affected churches.
"Are virtual church services here to stay?"
By Emma Prestwich
Churches are at a turning point. Parts of Canadian society are returning to normal — at least, streets are fuller than they were three months ago. But while some parishes are opening their doors thanks to relaxed restrictions, others are still opting to run virtual services. That's not only because they’re being careful, but likely also because online worship has been so successful.
Lawrence Park Community Church in Toronto has been attracting more worshippers on Zoom than it did in person, minister Rev. Stephen Milton told Broadview associate editor Andrew Faiz.
“I’m finding people are taking time to dig into the Bible like they never have before,” Milton said. “And the conversations are really rich.”
In his feature story from our September issue, Faiz speaks to folks with a variety of perspectives on what is actually essential about church and explores how those beliefs shaped their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Lawrence Park has been thriving online, not everyone agrees that Zoom is a suitable replacement.