Worshiping together, separately

I'd like to blame the bad acoustics inside my car for how I sounded while singing hosannas at our Palm Sunday service this morning, but that would be wrong. It's just me. I can't carry a tune when I'm surrounded by wonderful singers, so why should I expect to sing any better alone in my car?

Except I wasn't entirely alone. Around me were a dozen or more other cars, all with their windows open despite a cold, drizzly rain, all containing people singing "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna" to celebrate a Palm Sunday service in the church parking lot.

Our fabulous pianist played on a big old upright inside the fellowship hall, but the music was amplified so everyone outside could hear--including a few neighbors who stood in their yard under umbrellas. The pastor wore a warm hat and gloves while leading songs and prayers, but the rain dissipated just in time for the sermon, which reminded us of all our reasons for waving palm branches.

There was no choir, no offering, no sharing of hugs and handshakes, but sitting there in our separate cars in the church parking lot reminded us that even in our isolation, we are not alone, and it made me look forward even more passionately to the time when we can join hands again without fear.