During the two COVID shutdowns in our province, when we couldn’t gather in our church building for worship, my family live-streamed a worship service from our living room. Last year we did it live on Facebook and this year we’ve been going live on YouTube. We’ve been calling it “Homemade Worship.” We play songs, say prayers, read Scripture, and share a message of biblical truth to teach and encourage those who watch.

One of the blessings of “Homemade Worship” is having everyone in our family play an instrument. My wife usually plays piano or ukulele. Our boys often play various percussion instruments, like the cajon, boom-whackers, and egg shakers. One of our sons sometimes plays a little bit of violin. Our daughter will alternate between boom-whackers and ukulele. I play guitar (more or less). Dogs occasionally bark. 

Tomorrow (Sunday, June 20) may well be the last time we have “Homemade Worship.” The COVID guidelines have changed and we will be returning to our building as a congregation the following week. When we do, we will take a little bit of “Homemade Worship” with us since we will bring a bunch of our instruments to the church with us. 

And, honestly, it’s been our times of lockdown that got us playing together more as a family at home and at church. I’ve really enjoyed it. Practices aren’t always smooth. There are occasional creative differences. Not everyone brings the needed enthusiasm each time. In the end it more or less comes together. While never perfect, being able to do this as a family has been music to my ears.