{"id":339,"date":"2020-05-11T10:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T03:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/?p=339"},"modified":"2020-05-13T10:18:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T03:18:01","slug":"church-maintains-community-link-amid-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/?p=339","title":{"rendered":"Church maintains community link amid COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By Pei-Yu Lin\/ Published on <a href=\"https:\/\/arizonasonoranewsservice.com\/?p=33104&amp;fbclid=IwAR0ll4lCLKa-A12WQXM-Jk55XRYIxjTWFCfgvOpijJSgLASP3fTOu5GIiN8\">El Inde<\/a> on May 11, 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-GARDENIA_1-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-340\" srcset=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-GARDENIA_1-1024x684.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-GARDENIA_1-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-GARDENIA_1-768x513.jpg 768w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-GARDENIA_1-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-GARDENIA_1-2048x1369.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Gardenia Moffett, the senior pastor at the Harvest Christian Fellowship in Sonoita, leads the parishioners to sing in a Sunday worship on Feb. 23, 2020. The church\u2019s Sunday worship has been suspended due to Covid-19 since mid March.<br>(Photo by Pei-Yu Lin\/El Inde).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Gardenia Moffett walked onto the raised platform covered in gray carpet at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Sonoita last February. She took the microphone and welcomed the congregation. Sophia Bergh, 17, the training leader for youth in the church, stood beside her. Recorded music started playing and they began to sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI raise a Hallelujah. Our weapon is a melody,\u201d they sang as the congregation joined in. Some of the 26 congregants stood up and swayed their bodies with a light rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tom Moffett was just off stage, looking at his wife and singing with the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Moffetts are senior pastors at the Harvest Christian Fellowship, one of six Christian churches in the Sonoita area. Since they came in August 2018, they have tried out new ways to attract parishioners to join in the church\u2019s activities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-primary-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\"><strong>Young generation in the church<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The congregation has grown slightly and gotten younger since the Moffetts arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was probably about 30 (at the beginning), but what happens is people leave and people come. So, we\u2019re kind of reaching a new demographic of people, a little bit younger demographic in a small church,\u201d he explained. Tom estimated that the congregation numbers about 40 people now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_1261-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"352\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_1261-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/?attachment_id=352\" class=\"wp-image-352\" srcset=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_1261-1024x684.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_1261-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_1261-768x513.jpg 768w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_1261-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_1261-2048x1369.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Wide_A_DSC_1260-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"341\" class=\"wp-image-341\" srcset=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Wide_A_DSC_1260-1024x684.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Wide_A_DSC_1260-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Wide_A_DSC_1260-768x513.jpg 768w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Wide_A_DSC_1260-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Wide_A_DSC_1260-2048x1369.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">&nbsp; <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Sign_A_DSC_1257-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"350\" data-link=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/?attachment_id=350\" class=\"wp-image-350\" srcset=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Sign_A_DSC_1257-1024x684.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Sign_A_DSC_1257-300x201.jpg 300w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Sign_A_DSC_1257-768x513.jpg 768w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Sign_A_DSC_1257-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Wide-Shot-Church-Sign_A_DSC_1257-2048x1369.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">The Harvest Christian Fellowship is in Sonoita, Arizona.<br>(Photos by Pei-Yu Lin\/El Inde).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Bergh, a student at Benson High School, is a leader in training at the church. She helps lead the worship and plans youth activities. She says she became a Christian at age 10, and last January, started to come to the Harvest Christian Fellowship with her father and her brother. \u201cWe wanted to find a new church with exciting pastors. We wanted something with more of the youth program,\u201d she said.&nbsp;\u201cPastor Tom is just really energetic. He\u2019s really good at getting fired up about kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bergh loves to sing contemporary music, which is often accompanied by drums and electric guitars. It makes parishioners want to dance and sing more than the older hymns found in \u201cstricter\u201d churches, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bergh said the pastors usually open the Sunday worship with \u201cpeppy\u201d and \u201cfast-paced\u201d songs to \u201cget people excited about worship,\u201d and afterwards, they normally transition to slower, more heartfelt songs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It \u201chelps diminish the feeling of a strict religion when being in church,\u201d Bergh said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before coming to Harvest, Bergh and her family went to Canelo Cowboy Church. That church\u2019s senior pastor, Steve Lindsey, described the style of the music provided in the Canelo Church as \u201ccountry music, upbeat, old-fashioned style,\u201d that is usually accompanied on guitars. According to Lindsey, the mission of the Canelo Church, established in 2006, is to reach the working cowboy and those interested in the Western lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCanelo was a great church, but they didn\u2019t have contemporary music,\u201d Bergh said. \u201cThe music was different, and I was becoming less interested in horses.\u201d Instead of ranching or rodeo, Bergh\u2019s hobbies are outdoor sports like rock climbing and paddle boarding. For her career plan, she is considering joining the military and studying medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beside preaching the gospel, the church also has a Christian-centered homeschool ministry, called&nbsp;\u201cHarvest Homeschooler\u201d, where young families gather once a week for classes and activities for the children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the time, the parents take turns teaching the group. They also invite community speakers to teach the children extracurricular classes. About nine families and 24 children have participated in the program.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the homeschool service has been suspended since mid-March because of the Covid-19 virus. Face-to-face Sunday worship is also on hold, although the church did hold a modified Easter service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMany of these families don\u2019t attend harvest. They attend elsewhere, but they come here for the homeschool co-op, which is pretty exciting,\u201d Gardenia Moffett said. \u201cWe are not specifically marketing or trying to attract a certain age group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-primary-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\"><strong>The cultivation of public speaking skills<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-TOM_B_DSC_1254-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-342\" srcset=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-TOM_B_DSC_1254-1024x684.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-TOM_B_DSC_1254-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-TOM_B_DSC_1254-768x513.jpg 768w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-TOM_B_DSC_1254-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/PASTOR-TOM_B_DSC_1254-2048x1369.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Tom Moffett, the senior pastor at the Harvest Christian Fellowship, shares an&nbsp;<br>animated video about the holy city, Jerusalem, to the parishioners in the Sunday&nbsp;<br>worship on Feb. 23. (Photo by Pei-Yu Lin\/El Inde).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After singing a few songs, Gardenia welcomed Tom to the stage to start his speech for that day\u2019s worship. Tom shared the story of Jesus\u2019 life with the congregation and showed an animated video about the holy city, Jerusalem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tom\u2019s public speaking skills aren\u2019t in his genes. \u201cAs far as public speaking, you do it,\u201d Tom said. He was an athlete who managed to sign on with two NFL teams for a short time when he was 23 years old. \u201cWhat happens is when people hear NFL, they want you to come speak.\u201d That\u2019s when Tom started to practice public speaking and realized that he enjoys talking to the people in the church. \u201cI feel alive on that,\u201d Tom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tom went to postgraduate school for theology to get more training afterwards. He had worked for churches in Texas and Phoenix as a senior pastor and an executive pastor, respectively, before he came to Sonoita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m there because I believe it. Because it\u2019s a passion. It\u2019s coming from my life,\u201d Tom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"has-primary-color has-text-color wp-block-heading\"><strong>Christianity amid the pandemic<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Tom and Gardenia usually post information about the church on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PastorTomMoffett\/\">Tom Moffett\u2019s Facebook fan page<\/a>. After the outbreak of Covid-19 in mid-March, they started to run a Youtube channel,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC9SvB_sBvuWWDmrSxlduwFA\">KingdomComTV,<\/a>&nbsp;to keep preaching the gospel online from a studio in the lobby of the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Youtube Channel had 25 subscribers as of April 20.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c(The YouTube channel) has been very positive,\u201d Tom said. \u201cWe use social media to let people know and we interact that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"757\" src=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/KingdomComTV-screenshot-1024x757.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-354\" srcset=\"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/KingdomComTV-screenshot-1024x757.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/KingdomComTV-screenshot-300x222.jpg 300w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/KingdomComTV-screenshot-768x568.jpg 768w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/KingdomComTV-screenshot-1536x1136.jpg 1536w, http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/KingdomComTV-screenshot.jpg 1544w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Tom and Gardenia Moffett established a YouTube channel, KingdomComTV, to&nbsp;<br>preach the gospel online since the outbreak of Covid-19 in mid-March.&nbsp;<br>(Photo courtesy of KingdomComTV Youtube Channel).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Moffetts also pray with the parishioners through phone calls and continue to do Bible studies via Zoom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After getting permission from health officials and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff\u2019s Department, the Moffetts held Easter service in a different way. Parishioners signed up for a time and came into the church in groups of less than 10 people. The Moffetts then shared sermons, prayed, sang songs and held communion with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe separated their chairs. We did it outside. We\u2019ve held a mini service for them. If they had children, we had a team of people over in the playground and those people could go in and play,\u201d Tom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the kids left, their team wiped down the whole playground and cleaned all the tables before the next group came in. Around 30 to 40 people participated in the Easter service, Tom estimated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was hard for Gardenia and I. We were out there all day. But, the families loved it,\u201d Tom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe believe the church is not a building with four walls. The church is people. Whether they ever decide to visit Harvest Church is beside the point. We are the hands and feet of Jesus in our communities and we can love people right where they are,\u201d Gardenia said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><em>A version of this story will appear in the summer 2020 special issue of the&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/patagoniaregionaltimes.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Patagonia Regional Times<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Pei-Yu Lin &#8211; Published on El Inde.<br \/>\nAfter the outbreak of COVID-19, the Harvest Christian Fellowship in Sonoita, Arizona provides church service through a Youtube Channel, Zoom, and phone calls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[12,35,34],"class_list":["post-339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-articles","tag-arizona","tag-covid-19","tag-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=339"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":363,"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions\/363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peiyulin.tw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}