Pastor sees opportunities in chaos
The Fig Tree is focusing a section on stories about how vaccinations are having impact on rural, urban and ethnic congregations, and on creative ways congregations have been responding in their settings.
Benjamin Watson arrived as the new pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Spokane in September 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.
The building was shut down but open a few Sundays for him to meet some of the congregation, and then gatherings were on Zoom.
Recently he preached on "Cannot Be Business as Usual," making the point that "God did not take us out of the church for 15 months to have us come back and do church as usual.
"With God, some things change. In Methodism, we can be very methodical, so we need to continue to seek God . . .
