Oak Folk,
As many of you know, our Sunday, September 27th worship gathering (via Zoom) was violated by “zoom-bombers” who intruded on our gathering with obscene and racist images and audio. If you attended the meeting, you likely experienced this as malicious and threatening. Oak Church is founded on the mission of hope, healing, and hospitality in Christ; so it is especially hurtful to know that a worship gathering was a site of harm and that our virtual hospitality on a Sunday featuring a guest preacher was violated.
We mourn that terrorizing and grotesque hate and chaotic sinfulness was allowed entry into our safe and sacred space together. The effects of such an attack hurt all the more acutely because the primary posture of our worship gathering is of opening our hearts to God and each other. In Christ, we see how beautiful a vulnerable and open heart is.
As pastors and leaders, we are responding in the following ways:
- We are here for you. If you need to process and pray, please contact one of us via the contact information below. Several of us have been surprised at how lingering the fear and trauma of Sunday has been. Oftentimes the best way to disarm these forces of fear and harm is to speak openly about them and to pray against them with another brother or sister in Christ. If there are mental health concerns above and beyond our leaders’ capacity and expertise, we are happy to refer you to a practitioner who can better serve you.
- We’ve reported the incident to Zoom and they’ve removed the offenders and their IPs from their platform. While it’s not certain why we were targeted (there’s not necessarily a logic to this sort of thing), it is likely that the offenders gained access via a link posted on Twitter to a network of trolls.
- We are working to implement new security measures starting this Sunday.
Including:
- New meeting links each week sent out via the Oak Church newsletter.
- No longer posting direct links via social media or the church website.
- A waiting room, whereby you’ll be admitted into the gathering by an administrator.
- A way for visitors to find and gain access to our gatherings by contacting an administrator.
We realize that some of these measures are inconvenient and will take a little time to get used to, but we are committed to making room for a safe and secure sacred space. To help smooth this transition, we need you to communicate with others you are close to (checking in, sending links), subscribe to the newsletter and check your email regularly, and sign on to Zoom on Sundays early to be assured you’ll be admitted in a timely manner (make sure your name is clearly represented and your video or an identifiable picture is on, so that the administrator can admit you easily). Thanks for your patience and understanding, for your prayers and your notes of trust and encouragement.
Grace to you all and peace,
Pastors Chris Breslin & Meg Hoffman, and the Oak Church Steering Group
