Local church reflects on 2020 and hopes for 2021
JACKSON, Tenn. — A local church is expressing how the best is yet to come for 2021.
Englewood Baptist Church Pastor, Adam Dooley, spoke to WBBJ-7 about how 2020 was a humbling experience.
It was the last Sunday of 2020 and Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson celebrated with a special sermon to reflect on the year.
“My sermon today was called, ‘a year of reckoning’ because that really is what it has been. 2020 has been hard on everyone but especially churches,” Dooley said.
Pastor Dooley says the pandemic has forced the church to adjust how they do everything.
He says he wants the congregation to see the pandemic as a humbling experience.
“So today’s message was about humility and how God is trying to humble us, and teach us to look to him, and him only. So that’s what is essential about our faith, it can rise to the top,” Dooley said.
Pastor Dooley says for 2021, he hopes the COVID-19 vaccine will be the start of getting things back to normal.
“We look forward to the time where we can meet again, without social distancing, masks and all of those things. We just really miss one another,” Dooley said.
He says throughout 2020 the church has lost a big chunk of its congregation and it has taken a toll on everyone.
“Currently we’re having about a third of our congregation that’s worshiping in our building. The rest are gathering with us online, so we just want to be together again and look forward to that,” Dooley said.
He also says the church looks forward to new initiatives that fewer restrictions will allow them to pursue.
This year has caused the church to cancel many of its annual events the community knows well.
“It’s been a challenge. We’ve tried to be sensitive to the number of cases in our community in order to do our part to drive those numbers down. So we’ve had to be flexible
and I think we’ve done that well. But we’re anxious to have our full ministry opportunities that we’re accustomed to,” Dooley said.
Pastor Dooley says he hopes to encourage people that God is still in control and has a purpose for everything that we face, even during a pandemic.
He says when God seems most absent, he is often the most active.
