Published by Programme B
Church services make up an important backbone for the lives of your parishioners. From mass to weekly Bible study, the church program of events is a crucial component of many people’s lives. So keeping calm and keeping the church running during an emergency is an essential consideration for any parish. Here are some ways to keep things going no matter what unexpected calamity comes your way.
Combatting power outages.
Power outages are likely the most common emergencies you will face, so finding a local firm that facilitates generator hire is a great way to circumvent a short term outage of service and keep your church up and running. Cables and a generator rental may be all you need to operate through a temporary power failure in your area. Getting through mass services while the power company deals with a failed transformer or downed line is important for the continuity of your community’s faith based needs.
While the church can certainly survive with a missed mass, it’s not ideal, since engaging with God’s word and the scripture can give the community strength on a weekly basis. Instead of cancelling one of the most important events on your community’s weekly schedule, hiring a generator is a great way to keep the lights on so that you can administer communion to your members and leave them on their way through the week with the feeling of spiritual satisfaction that cannot be replicated without a service.
Alternatively, you could choose to hold a service in the style of Biblical times and light candles throughout the chapel. This may give your reading of the scripture a new feel that brings new believers closer to the rest of the community. This could be a great way to change up stale habits in your community and breathe new life into the service for your members.
Hold virtual meetings or schedule an offsite Bible study.
Another workaround is to meet at a member’s home or host a virtual meeting over the internet. Passing out the church’s study bibles to those involved and then meeting through a different medium than on the church grounds can keep the strength of your community’s continuity intact even if the building is unusable due to power failure or another emergency that affects your use of the church.
Skype, Zoom, or in home sessions can give your group access to a new appreciation for God’s word, as reading and discussing scripture outside the walls of the church can give readers a new, more intimate approach to the words. Interacting with your study Bible from home or at a local coffee shop with your group can be a great way to discover new angles of introspection that might not have been possible in the structure of the church itself.
Keep emergency equipment up to date.
Finally, it’s important to make sure that your emergency equipment is always tested and up to date. Checking your fire extinguishers every six months is an important part of your emergency preparedness plan and can save lives in the event of a serious emergency that goes beyond a simple nuisance. You will also need to ensure that exit routes are planned out and signs that show where emergency exits are located adorn the entrances of the building.
No one expects an emergency to happen, but preparing for the worst will keep you sharp in the event of one. Preparing for anything will also help you contain a hazard like a fire faster while keeping your community out of harm’s way. This means that your members will remain safe and you will be able to remedy any damage caused by the emergency in rapid time, getting your community back to normal in a flash.