Pandemic Religion: A Digital Archive

Pandemic Religion Contributions

Item Set

Items

• Religion Out The Window

  This is an article from my blog, offbeatcompassion. I am a board certified hospice chaplain. The article is about how a priest and a family and a hospice patient figured out how to have the Sacrament of the Sick in a meaningful and safe way. The location was at the patient's home.

• Pandemic Religion: A Digital Archive

  We are a small church of about 40 people and it's hard being apart as they become nearly like a second family. We meet daily for a morning prayer session and read some scriptures. Then on Sunday we have out normal church service. All this is through Zoom. It not only strengthen's our belief, but also makes us feel not so alone.

• Committee Resolution

  When I was going through confirmation classes as a teenager at First Presbyterian Church in Tyler Texas, I was told an old joke to illustrate our church’s form of governance. “How many Presbyterians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Four: one to propose the motion to get a new bulb, two to carry the motion, and one to actually screw in the new light.” We’re a bunch governed by committee, we gather in a group, sit in a circle, and arrive at a quorum, and that’s just for social gatherings (sometimes there’s a cheeseball but that has more to do with the small-town ambiance of it all). These last couple years as a college student my committee designate has been in youth leadership, Wednesday night bible study circles is where I can usually be found. Since being in Austin for school, I’ve helped lead out at Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian after a recruitment call during my freshman year from my old youth pastor who came to the capital for bigger better things. Plaguetime might have thrown a wrench in the system of our regular meetings and my active participation had new technologies not enabled us to gather in our customary decision-making circles with relative ease. Admittedly we look a little like the Jedi Council meeting via hologram, each of our faces illuminated by blue light and voices ringing with the tinny hollowness of laptop speakers, but still we gather, and still we nominate, propose, pass and carry orders of business, chasing the feeling of being in agreement with one another.
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  Collecting food for two Fairfax food banks

  On May 9, 2020, Truro Anglican Church held a food drive for two food banks in Fairfax. Parishioners dropped off groceries from the trunks of their cars, which masked church staff stored in a long hallway. Later church volunteers drove the food to two different food banks. We learned that food banks measure food in pounds, as shown on the receipt from one of the food banks. This is just a small effort towards meeting the needs of our community.

• Helping deliver food to a food bank

  On Saturday, Truro had drive-by distribution of communion wafers, collected graduation cards for graduating seniors, and collected food for area food banks. I was lazy, and wrote a check rather than providing food. The church collected FAR MORE food than anticipated, and filled the glass breezeway. So, they asked for help today to deliver the food to the area food banks. Because I had today off, I was able to help. It really weighed down my car! The place is on Prosperity Avenue between Lee Highway and Arlington Blvd. We delivered so much (4 car loads, plus a pickup) that we overwhelmed them, unfortunately, while they were trying to distribute to needy people. Another set of cars and a pickup took other loads to the Shirlington section of Arlington. Unfortunately, we might need to do food collection multiple times over the next several months.
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  Centreville Baptist Church collects for food bank at local grocery store

  At the local Giant grocery store, Centreville Baptist Church of Virginia was collecting food donations for their food bank.

• Cyberspace & Faith

  Raised with a set of loose reins in the Catholic faith, I eventually grew up into a young adult who lacked the spiritual and ethereal connection with God that appeared to be present among so many others in my community. Prior to the virus, I had come to a point in my life where I did not often attend Sunday mass with my family, as I had proclaimed a more secular sense of religion in the later years of my teens. Nonetheless, when COVID-19 hit my local Catholic Church causing it to move all of its practices online, including Easter services, it was as though we were enduring a micro-revolution. From friends around my age reaching out personally to ask about donating blood, to my grandmother’s friends leading community zoom calls among the elderly in an effort to maintain morale, a new class of leaders had emerged from a congregation once lacking in motivation; or more aptly a call to action. Furthermore, with the transition to so many cyberspace venues and constant presence in the realm of social media, there has been a reemergence of people who had loose affiliations within the church, such as myself, which in turn has motivated those who were simply once weekly attendees of mass, to stand up and create even more ways in which the religious experience can be shared. Quite frankly, it’s almost as though the priest at my church has faded into ambiguity while youth leaders have made social services and bible study accessible for what appears to be 24 hours each day.

• Savina's Beliefs

  This pandemic has made video calling the social norm, which has helped me reconnect with one of my old friends, Savina. Savina is an artist studying holistic medicine. She also practices Catholicism, and often reflects on her own beliefs. We discuss things like folk medicine, mental health, and meditation. I'm agnostic, but our conversations often lead to spirituality and beliefs, which has been really enjoyable. Her primary knowledge is in Mexican folk medicine and culture. She taught me how to perform Limpia con huevo, or egg cleansing, which is a method rooted in Mexican Catholicism for removing curses or bad energy. We've also talked about the effects of religion on mental and physical health. I always thought that religion provided a sense of fulfillment, but she gave me multiple examples where her religion caused far more turmoil than necessary. Her religious knowledge is fascinating because she has a personal explanation for each of her beliefs, which has given her well-deserved confidence around Catholicism. She is also knowledgable about and respectful towards so many other religions. I'm constantly impressed.

• Grieving During the Pandemic

  About a month into quarantine, my family and I got the news that my uncle had a stroke. He was in pretty bad shape, and no one, not even his own children, was allowed to visit him in the ICU. After being there for a little over a week, he passed away. It was only until after he died that his immediate family was able to see him, then he was taken away to a funeral home. As Catholics, whenever someone dies, we always hold a rosary ceremony. This allows us to see our loved one, support the family, and pray the rosary as a group. However, because of social distancing, we weren’t allowed to hold a rosary or mass. Having to practice social distancing has made a very difficult time even more difficult. Family unity is an extremely important part of Hispanic culture, and we can’t grieve the same way anymore. All contact with my other family members has had to be through phone or video calls. Some of my family have even resorted to using social media as a way to share what they would have said in a eulogy. It feels so strange and impersonal not to be able to interact with our family in person during such a devastating time.

• Church at Home

  I am part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In my local area (near Seattle, WA) our leaders have held a devotional over Zoom every Sunday morning. The devotional includes prayers, 2 or 3 short talks or sermons, and sometimes music. But what the Zoom calls do not include is access to receiving the Sacrament. Our local leadership has been careful to make sure everyone has proper access to this important Sacrament. Many households contain someone who is ordained to administer this rite, but mine does not. So after the Zoom call I travel a short distance to another family's home to take the Sacrament.

• Self-Isolation & Spiritual Experimentation

  I have self-identified as an “optimistic agnostic” ever since denouncing my Catholic upbringing during my senior year of high school; I don’t know if there is a higher power or ruling spirit, but I like to think that there is and that I can show respect and worship that higher power through my daily actions. Graduating and moving to college did not give me much time to think about delving deeper into my spirituality, let alone research religions and practices that resonated with my personal beliefs. I’ve lived mostly secularly for about 2.5 years. When the panic of COVID-19 spread to Texas, I was immediately worried about my subpar immune system, so I began self-isolation on March 12, 2020. Being locked in my apartment with my roommate and cat from the jump led to a lot of free time, most of which has been spent on our balcony overlooking the small Austin park behind our complex. Sitting near the trees and submerging myself in nature reminded me of my mom walking our property with 6-year-old me to teach me about nature, and I realized that I felt closer to a higher power during those hikes with my mom than I ever did while sitting with her in a Catholic mass. This epiphany has allowed me to better define the religious ideas that fit into my moral code, and my free time at home has allowed me to research various religions and belief systems. I am in the process of exploring my spirituality through various forms of prayer, meditation, and worship in the comfort of my home. I believe that this is a perfect time for people with secular lifestyles to consider what is important to them and try to find brand new aspects of spirituality in their daily lives.
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  Hope filled Anxiety

  As many individuals would say COVID-19 has turned a lot of things in our lives upside down. I am a Christian about to graduate from UT Austin and support raising to join the staff of the church I call my home. Along with those individuals, I would say this pandemic has drastically shifted my idea of what was to come next; however, amid my uncertainty, frustration, intense anxiety, and the loss of my ability to tell time I have seen and heard of healing. I myself would consider myself a pretty anxious person. During this pandemic, I had my first panic attack and hopefully my last. What I saw as I calmed down from the help of my roommates was people coming alongside me and providing comfort in any way possible. I was able to see just how anxious I had been for the weeks of COVID that had already passed. As I have shared that with individuals in my life, I have heard stories of understanding and words of love. While I am not grateful for this pandemic it has been sweet to walk closely with my roommates and to see how individuals are still seeking each other out. The picture I included is from a zoom call of individuals in my ministry watching the live stream of music from our church. Yet there are many times we have come together to proclaim Christ’s name and pray for the people of this earth, where we have encouraged each other and expressed our longing to be together. While I am in no way thankful to see people die, I am grateful to see how this is bringing a lot of people together. Bringing people together to rely on each other and their faith as they seek a way to move forward. So even as I battle anxiety surrounding our world there is a hope that I have. One day we will all commune together in person again and it will be a sweet time.

• Students Facing the Pandemic in Their Small Church

  I am a university student, and I recently joined a small baptist church of roughly 150 official members, excluding visitors and children. This was my first time completing the process of church membership, despite going with my parents weekly as a child. I became an official member and was baptized roughly a month before the pandemic broke out, scattering myself and my fellow student members. Most students living near or on campus returned to their parents homes for one reason or another, from the closing of dorms to the announcement of the residential area minutes from campus was a ‘hot spot’ for COVID-19 infection. This was devastating for me; my new church family was hours away from me and in some cases on the other side of the world (a close church sister of mine is from Dubai). While it is extremely difficult to provide a healthy, biblical church environment while distancing, the pastors are recording segments of Sunday services to be sent out weekly by email. These web pages contain several links of videos for hymns, sermons, times of prayer, and encouragements. There are also reading groups and intermittent fasting accompanied by zoom meetings for interested members. The students are also continuing to hold bible studies and other weekly meetings to foster community during this time. It has served as an important lesson to me what faithfulness looks like to a local church even when being ‘local’ is no longer an option.

• The Tender Mercies of COVID-19

  I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, formerly known as the Mormon church. Members of my church often reflect on the "tender mercies of the Lord," or personal and timely blessing from God. My church's meetinghouses and temples are closed worldwide. However, my husband and I have used this occurrence as an opportunity to marvel in God's timely developments in modern religion. Our church's prophet put into a place a home-study program called "Come Follow Me" just over a year ago. Through this program, scripture study is home-focused as opposed to purely learning in church on Sundays. I believe God brought this program to us at the perfect time, knowing worship would be forced to shift into the home by the pandemic. The "Come Follow Me" program is a tender mercy. In a biannual worldwide broadcast called General Conference, our prophet called for a worldwide fast. He prompted us to not eat for 24 hours on April 10 while we pray for the pandemic to be controlled, caregivers to be protected, the economy to be strengthened, and life to be normalized. I witnessed everyone in my church devote themselves to this fast and inviting others to do the same. I joined a Facebook group full of people of all religions around the world sharing their experiences pertaining to fast. Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, you name it; the world was united in faith to quell the virus. Data shows that April 10 yielded the peak of COVID-19 cases in the US, and cases began to plummet after April 10. The sense of hope and community gained from the worldwide fast was a tender mercy. When my now-husband and I first decided to get married in early fall, we were tasked with choosing a date. Since I am a college student, we thought June may be a good time, but we did not want to wait that long. I suggested June 13, but we felt prompted to turn to prayer to receive spiritual confirmation of a wedding date. The date "March 14" popped into my husband's head during prayer. To our amazement, we saw that March 14 happened to fall on the Saturday before my spring break at college, giving us a week's break to go on a honeymoon. Come March, the pandemic was slowing spreading into America. The week before our wedding became increasingly stressful as we weren't certain if we'd be able to hold a wedding. March 14 was a magical day. We were married in the Dallas Mormon Temple and held a reception of about 100 people. Just days later, the prophet announced that all temples would close until further notice and government officials ordered that large gatherings be canceled. If we had waited until June, we surely wouldn't have been blessed with our perfect wedding and temple ceremony. March 14 was a tender mercy. During the pandemic, I have observed that God's plan is perfect. Don't get me wrong; I do not believe that COVID-19 is a blessing. I work in a hospital as a phlebotomist and come in contact with dozens of patients a day. I have seen the structural and individual stress the virus has placed on the healthcare system. However, I know that God gives us tender mercies in this trying time to show his love and bless us for our diligence and faith. Modern technology and social media have made social distancing tolerable for us, and through its wonders, we can continue to worship God and study His scripture in the era of COVID-19.

• Church Service at Home

  https://national.cc/events/details/worship-online-with-us The link above allows anyone to view National Community Churches online weekend church services.

• Latter Day Saints, Religion, and COVID

  I was raised and am currently a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. COVID-19 has drastically changed the way that I as an individual worship. Before the pandemic, I attended church services or activities at least three times a week. Monday night was family home evening night. As a ward (congregation) we came together, shared a spiritual thought, had a prayer, and played some games, learned a new skill, watched a movie, or did a service activity. Wednesday night was institute night or bible study. For an hour and a half, I would sit with my friends, and we would learn more about the key figures in the Bible or Book of Mormon. This past semester I have been learning about the women in the scriptures. Sundays, we came together for service. Where we partook of the sacrament, sang songs, listened to speakers, and held Sunday school. I haven’t had sacrament in over two months. The sacrament is a sacred ritual that we are encouraged to partake in weekly. It feels strange not to be able to take the bread and water. I no longer have those couple of quiet minutes sitting in my church building to reflect on my week and see what I could do better in the eyes of God. I miss having Bible studies every week. It is hard to be motivated to do it personally by myself and without in-person classes. But not everything has changed. Every six months, there is a broadcast of our general authorities or the head leaders of the church, giving us guidance and instructions for our lives. This broadcast still happened in April; there was just not a live audience. Over the last two years, our church leaders have emphasized the need to study at home and to take an active role in our personal learning with the gospel. They made a previously three-hour church to two hours to give us an extra hour at home to increase our own study. They have made guides with what scriptures we should read weekly, and questions/prompts to help guide our studies. This preparation for something like a pandemic has been beneficial. Already having something in place has made it easier to find ways to feel spiritually fulfilled.

• Latter Day Saints, Relgion, and COVID

  I was raised and am currently a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. COVID-19 has drastically changed the way that I as an individual worship. Before the pandemic, I attended church services or activities at least three times a week. Monday night was family home evening night. As a ward (congregation) we came together, shared a spiritual thought, had a prayer, and played some games, learned a new skill, watched a movie, or did a service activity. Wednesday night was institute night or bible study. For an hour and a half, I would sit with my friends, and we would learn more about the key figures in the Bible or Book of Mormon. This past semester I have been learning about the women in the scriptures. Sundays, we came together for service. Where we partook of the sacrament, sang songs, listened to speakers, and held Sunday school. I haven’t had sacrament in over two months. The sacrament is a sacred ritual that we are encouraged to partake in weekly. It feels strange not to be able to take the bread and water. I no longer have those couple of quiet minutes sitting in my church building to reflect on my week and see what I could do better in the eyes of God. I miss having Bible studies every week. It is hard to be motivated to do it personally by myself and without in-person classes. But not everything has changed. Every six months, there is a broadcast of our general authorities or the head leaders of the church, giving us guidance and instructions for our lives. This broadcast still happened in April; there was just not a live audience. Over the last two years, our church leaders have emphasized the need to study at home and to take an active role in our personal learning with the gospel. They made a previously three-hour church to two hours to give us an extra hour at home to increase our own study. They have made guides with what scriptures we should read weekly, and questions/prompts to help guide our studies. This preparation for something like a pandemic has been beneficial. Already having something in place has made it easier to find ways to feel spiritually fulfilled.

• The impact of religious practices on families

  My cousin, Jerry, is a 14 years old young boy who has been suffering autism for years. He cannot express his emotion and often appears to be manic depression, a disorder associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. No one in his family knows the exact cause of this disorder, and even though the treatment could help him getting better, it could never be cured and maybe lasting lifelong. It is hard for him to make friends at school, and thus, he gradually isolates himself from the outer environment and his families as well. My uncle is a devout Buddhist, and there is a room in his house, which is mainly for cultus practice. Every morning, my uncle would require Jerry to meditate together with him for an hour and then drives him to school. He tends to use laws in Buddhism to teach him liberation and freedom of suffering. He thinks that concentration and meditation could develop one’s mind and guide them to the path to wisdom and leads to personal space. It is a way to strengthen and control one’s mind and maintaining oneself in good conduct. Right now, meditation has become a unique way for Jerry to calm himself down.
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  Remotely participating in Church and Bible Study

  These pictures (which have been edited through cropping and blotting) represent ways that this church are reaching out to its congregational members so that they can continue to participate in Church and Bible study through online means during this pandemic.

• How COVID-19 has affected my family

  The pandemic has affected my family in ways that we never expected. While I am not religious myself, my family is devoutly Catholic. Prior to COVID-19, they would attend church every weekend without fail. Starting at the end of March 2020, the church stopped having in person mass, and my family began to watch the service on TV during the same scheduled time. I noticed that they also began to participate in religious activities more often than prior. My family has been watching live streams of other religious talks and internet content of the same vein, as well as just praying more often and as a group. As someone who is personally agnostic, the coronavirus situation hasn't affected my own beliefs, but it seems to me that those who were already very religious have only had their beliefs strengthened. A recent development in the situation is that the church my family goes to just re-opened this weekend at a limited capacity. The protocol included having those in the front of the church wearing masks, but interestingly enough, those in the pews weren't wearing masks. Further, only 25% of the normal capacity was allowed in and the building filled up quickly, which showed me that a significant amount of people in my town were eager to go back to church in person.

• Worshipping Together From Home

  I was raised in Houston in the Methodist church and became actively involved at a young age. I began leading worship during services on Sundays with the worship team at the beginning of high school and continue to lead today when I’m home from college. As I’m now in college in Austin rather than Houston, I found a new church home but did not engage in leading with the worship team there. I missed being able to lead others in worship through music and feel the power that worship can bring to a congregation. I was displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic and had to come back to Houston - I was asked to rejoin the worship team and help them with the move to online worship. This move to online services greatly affected the dynamic of the whole church, as we value fellowship and communal worship. Our services are now all pre-recorded, instead of live, and we are unable to meet together to engage in our faith as a physical group. Our faith puts a strong emphasis on the importance of community, and by being stuck in our homes with no ability to worship with others, our faith can be tested at times and it can be difficult to find the motivation to engage in worship. A lot of work goes into making sure that people still feel connected throughout this time, but the move to online worship through music has been most affected. The first few online services after our church closed its doors due to the virus consisted of our worship pastor and I putting out content for people to be able to worship to. After a few Sundays of this, the he decided that we needed a better way to engage the congregation and provide a more community based sense of worship, other than just two people singing when we normally have a whole band. Since we engage in a more contemporary way of worship rather than traditional, we figured it wouldn’t be too daunting of a task to have a few people record their own parts, send them in, and then piece them all together. This move to a more traditional kind of worship that we engage in normally helped to rebuild those emphases of community and worship through fellowship that we, as a church, hold so dear. Even though we aren’t able to worship together physically, seeing these videos every week and hearing my family sing along reminds me that even though we can’t be together, we can worship together from home.

• My Experience in Time of COVID-19

  My experience in the time of coronavirus has been similar to many others. As an Asian-American Christian, I attend a Chinese church in my hometown of Dallas. Our church is relatively small compared to other Protestant or Christian churches; we only have about 120 people and one service (in Mandarin Chinese). Spring Break marked the end of our in-person worship services, and from that point on our church has been holding all gathering online through Zoom. As my father is a layperson who serves in the church, he has been busy with many meetings with church leadership in how to navigate the coronavirus crisis. As for the four C’s of creed, code, cultus, and community, some have remained the same and some have changed. Creed has been the most unchanged, as what I believe doesn’t change based upon the circumstances. However, our church, like many others, has particularly emphasized prayers for those who have been affected by coronavirus, such as the sick, the elderly, healthcare workers, and the unemployed. Code has been somewhat relaxed – I could show up to service in pajamas, but I haven’t so far. Cultus, or the rituals that are associated with religion, has been the most affected. Partaking in the Eucharist/Communion has been temporarily suspended as the church congregants are supposed to physically join in the ritual together, which of course isn’t possible over Zoom. Additionally, other rituals such as baptism and offerings/almsgiving have also been postponed. Some parts of cultus, such as the hymns and the sermon, have remained the same, though. (It has to be said that singing to a computer feels weird, though). As for community, we have transitioned to an online community. Even though we cannot be physically in a church building, we know that we are linked together by the Holy Spirit.

• Girl To Tell Kids the Gospel Interrupted

  I am a senior at UT, and an avid member in an international ministry called Younglife. Younglife’s mission is to tell adolescents about Jesus, and lead them to walk their life with Him. I have been leading a group of middle school girls for the last 3 years, and I plan to follow them into freshman year. I was team leader for my Younglife team for the last two years, and I attend a small group, through College Young Life where I have met and walked with girls my year throughout college. This past summer I was a backpacking guide at a Younglife camp called Wilderness Ranch and Lake Powell Adventures. My job is essentially to lead kids into the backcountry and tell them about Jesus while hiking through His Creation. We had to cancel a training that was set for early April due to COVID's arrival, and transferred all our training to Zoom 3 nights a week for 7 weeks leading up to the day, June 1st, that we would arrive at camp. Two Fridays ago, I found out that Younglife has cancelled all of their camps nation-wide for the summer of 2020. As of now, thousands of kids do not have the opportunity to get away from life and its distractions, and meet their Creator in the backcountry. There are no words to describe my sorrow for this news. There are no more zoom calls for training. There are No more meetings where we talk and pray about how to lead kids to the Truth we believe is alive and active. There is no word that we could even possibly be there this summer. COVID has ruined the chance for kids to hear about Jesus Christ and for that reason, I am in a season of mourning. On top of that, my middle school girls do not respond well to Zoom and the meeting I set to “hang” with them. So I have resorted to texting them and checking in with them that way. But there are no more hangout at Starbucks or Krispy Kreme where I tell them about Jesus. And to keep the sad news rollings, my new church is struggling financially. Being only less than two years old, we still struggle to stand on our own without the support of other churches. This virus has hit us hard especially. I know I say I am mourning and sorrowful, but even within these feelings, I still remain faithful to God. I believe He will deliver us through this mess and one day we will look back and see all the good in this time.

• Life without Sacrament

  To future historians, hopefully you put my story in a textbook and now my children are reading it. I am sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin. I am what you would call a "cradle" Catholic, which basically means I have been Catholic since birth. Since the first announced classes were cancelled and mass would now be livestreamed I have been struggling. My roommates and all my friends went home and I found myself alone. This is exactly the time I am supposed to turn to Jesus right? As a practitioner of Roman Catholicism one of the most important doctrines of our face is the receiving of Holy Communion, so I literally could not receive Jesus. During this Easter season, a time so full of joy I find it hard to be thankful for the things around me. It was also hard to get in the spirit of the season as all masses were suspended. I find it even harder to keep the faith as I struggle to feel connected to my religious community. In Roman Catholicism the important backbone of this religion is sacraments and not being able to receive the sacraments has affected me deeply, I feel as if a part of myself is missing. Even though I know He is still there for me, I can't help but feel somewhat disconnected. However, I am grateful that our modern technology gives us wonderful inventions such as Zoom, so that I am still able to meet with my Bible Study every week. In order to change how I approach my faith life I have tried to set up my own private time in prayer and livestream adoration services.

• A Perspective of an Agnostic/Atheist from a Jewish Family

  I am not affiliated with any religion and have trouble believing in a higher being as described in many houses of worship. The coronavirus pandemic, by sending religions scrambling to redefine important traditions, has strengthened these secular beliefs. However, I appreciate the uplifting effects that religion can have on families during this trying time. Because of social distancing measures, this year was the first time my family held Passover completely alone. This was a gloomy thought as Passover is a holiday to spend time with and appreciate family and friends. Surprisingly, though, quarantine managed to gather our geographically scattered family in a way we never could. I am attending college in another state and normally cannot come home for Passover. This year the pandemic fortuitously returned me home right before it began. Then, with the help of newly popularized video platforms like Zoom, we were able to celebrate the Passover seder with nearly all of my mom’s family for the first time in my life. It still strikes me that the mixture of my family’s religion and the hardship of the pandemic created a family reunion that would probably not have happened otherwise. I disagree with many tenets of religion, but I will be forever grateful for its ability to bring people together.