Our family didn’t attend church this past Sunday. Some from our small church met at our pastor’s house, but our family didn’t attend (due to lingering influenza with one of our kids). Instead we took extra time to pray together, including prayer for medically vulnerable loved ones and neighbors. Many larger churches in our region cancelled in-person services and streamed the services instead. It is likely that more and more churches will be cancelling services and switching to small home-group meetings and streaming Sunday services.

But not attending church doesn’t stop us from being the church. One helpful term for the family within some Christian traditions is “the domestic church.” It’s a great concept that we can integrate into our lives as we all hunker down at home during the COVID-19 crisis. How can we worship together, pray together, learn together? How can we serve each other, forgive each other, love each other deeply? Our families are square one for the practice of Christian discipleship and formation; the challenges we will face in the coming weeks will give us ample opportunity to practice grace, compassion, care, and faithfulness!

This week’s featured article includes ideas and resources for home-based worship together, particularly for those whose churches are not holding in-person gatherings. I’ve also included an article about ways parents can help kids with anxiety and an article on having realistic expectations and extending grace in marriage.

How is God at work in your “domestic church”? This week and the weeks to come will be trying, but may God use this unusual season to draw our families closer to each other and closer to himself.