Pandemic Religion: A Digital Archive

Items

• 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.

• Becoming Closer to God in the Midst of Fear

  For as long as I can remember, I have strived to be perfect in nearly every aspect of my life. Between school and personal life, I did my best to be the best and I feel like a lot of my present anxieties stem from these views of perfection. I’ve always been open about my faith, but for some reason, it felt like that was the only realm that I didn’t actively try to be perfect in. I used to go to church, but it’s been a long time. I went to the same church for about seven years and used to love it, but the church became so disconnected. Despite not going to church, I still pray and read my Bible sometimes, but I’ve always wanted to be a part of a strong, Christian community. As this pandemic has grown, my anxiety has been at an all time high. For me, there has been so much fear and uncertainty, and this need for physical isolation has caused me to further isolate myself emotionally. I feel like Covid-19 is my calling to rekindle my faith and grow spiritually. Now, I have so much time to focus on God and don’t have the distractions of school, work, and extracurriculars to use as an excuse not to. Several friends and I have even formed a weekly Bible study group via Zoom, allowing me to attain that community feeling I’ve desired for so long and also bring myself out of isolation. I feel safe and loved. And, I still feel motivated outside of the group to grow on my own. By returning to God in times of fear, I feel more peace. For me, it kind of goes to show that what seems like a bad thing can actually enable you to grow and find the good.
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  Worship at Home

  Until I moved away for college, I had always gone to First Southern Baptist Church in Lawrence, KS. I unexpectedly had to come back home due to the COVID-19 outbreak and everything has changed. In response to the stay-at-home order, my church has canceled all services until it is safe for everyone to meet together again. However, now we have recorded services on youtube that we watch as well as recorded worship sessions. Also, my dad is an adult Sunday school teacher, who instead of recording his teachings, has started holding online zoom sessions for his class. This helps everyone stay connected as a lot of people are not doing well in these troubling times.

• A Negative Impact on My Relationship with God

  I think this pandemic has peaked my relationship with God, or perhaps made me realize how bad of a follower I am. I usually have the excuse of school or being busy all the time to not devote time in my day to read the Bible or watch a sermon. However, since I have loads of times, I feel guilty that I don't have an ounce of motivation in my life to devote my new down time to God. I don't have an excuse anymore. And then I receive blessings throughout this pandemic that shows me that I really am being cared for. Like worrying about money, but receiving a stimulus check the very next day that I didn't know I qualified for. Or having a distant/absent relationship with my father, but being able to spend time with him and rebuild our relationship. I am being taken care of but yet I can't muster the time to give thanks. This has been a very frustrating process for myself and my relationship with God.

• Remembering God

  I am a busy person, partly by choice and partly by necessity. Since I was a child, I have had an insatiable drive to work and to achieve. My drive and ambition are more a part of me than my limbs. I am a deans-list college student at a prestigious university who is also juggling extra-curricular activities, a job, and a long-distance relationship. When I was physically at my university, this business tended to pull me away from my sense of religion. I never had a crisis of belief or lost my Christian ways. Rather, I was just too busy too truly connect with them. I rarely prayed, which I used to do every day before college, and I never had the time or drive to really experience religion. When I first got sent home from college due to Covid-19, it was like my world went into slow motion. I had little social interaction, my classes were canceled for a week, my extracurriculars were not meeting, and I could not attend my on-campus job. My lifestyle of keeping busy was shattered. My word was quiet. It was in this quietness, that my religion came back to me. I had time and space to explore my relationship with God again. It was like being reunited with an old friend you had not realized was lost. Covid-19, while tragic and painful in many ways, realigned me with my faith.
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  Free Pet Food Helps People Cope with COVID 19

  CrossRoads Church at Westfield in Indiana created a unique way to help people during this pandemic - a drive-through free pet food give-away. People are without jobs and finding it difficult to have enough money to provide for all of their needs. Not knowing how they are going to make ends meet and the fear of how their health may be affected by COVID 19 is creating lots of anxiety and stress. When times get tough, people still take care of their pets even if it means people may not have enough money for their own food or prescriptions. In times of high anxiety, pets are stress relievers and anxiety reducers. So we decided that we could free up some resources families could use for themselves and at the same time feed the pets that help alleviate anxiety and stress for their owners. Thus...Free Pet Food Saturdays!
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  Longs Run Trinity Presbyterian April Bulletins

  The Third Sunday of Eastertide. Details the order and events of that day's virtual service.
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  In Person to Online

  I attend church at Matthias Lot in St. Charles, Missouri. Before the COVID-19 situation, I would go every week and worship in person, gather with other believers, and hear a message in the room with everyone else. Now service is online. It’s not the same, and I wish I could be around my friends and fellow believers, but, I’m so happy technology exists so I can still view service and worship on my own at home. Really, I’m more blessed than I am unlucky. I’ve attached a video from my church explaining the differences.
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  Healing Heartbreak

  Jewish religion heavily honors life cycle events as a way to guide practitioners through a moral, spiritual, and meaningful journey. When I was first informed of my 50-year-old uncle’s sudden death from a heart attack, I was in disbelief. How could such an incredible athlete with an admirable diet and a healthy lifestyle die from such a complication? Mike was the most intelligent and humble man I have ever known, pouring all of his heart into his children, his wife, his clients and anyone who had the privilege of meeting him. Most importantly, Mike embodied the Jewish community. After Mike’s passing, my aunt received deeply heartfelt emails from more people than imaginable. Mike continues to unite the sense of a Jewish community through his memory. When a Jewish person passes, it is custom that the funeral service and burial quickly follow to best preserve and honor the body. When the mourners return home from the funeral, the shiva - a formal, seven-day Jewish mourning - begins. The shiva serves to bring together the Jewish community in mourning and in celebration of the life of the deceased. The Jewish people were never instructed on how to properly mourn during a worldwide pandemic. Nonetheless, Mike’s wisdom surpassed precedent. Our extended family and friends gathered online to say the mourner’s kaddish, which does not mention death but rather asks God to pray for the souls of the deceased. Mimicking the environment of a shiva house, many people then shared stories of Mike, allowing for both cries and soft laughter to be heard. Mike’s memory joined family and friends from all across the nation, creating a sense of community and comfort that we all so deeply miss during this time of isolation. I know Mike will continue to embrace and uplift the Jewish community through his memory for years to come.

• The Pandemic and my Faith

  I am a 65 year old man who has lived his entire life with faith in God. I was raised a Methodist and at the age of 20 married a girl who was a member of the Presbyterian church in my town. We married in her church and our children were baptized there, so I felt the proper thing was for me to transfer and become a member of the Presbyterian church and worship there as a family. Through the years we were regular church goers although my wife and I both worked turns and weekends, so we weren’t that involved in the operation of the church, we just attended and our children were raised in the church. As I approached my 60’s, I suffered some health problems and while I always had believed and felt that I had a lot of faith, my faith in God and my involvement in church increased after a couple near death experiences. I was overcome by a feeling that there was things I needed to do and while I have been very active in my church and community since my health issues, I’m still not sure that I’ve done everything needed and I still pray to God and ask for direction as to what he wants me to do and how to serve. As what is these days a sign of the times, our church which was a traditional (not a contemporary service church) was failing financially and we realized we must merge or close our doors and walk away from our building. 3 years ago we did complete a successful but somewhat difficult merger with another Presbyterian church in our community. And I was filled with the thought that I should work to make our merger successful. I became more active in my church. I became an elder and am on our church session which runs the business of the church. My wife and I are Sunday School teachers together for the 1-3 grade levels and I am Sunday School Superintendent. I sing in the church choir. I am the chairman of both the Personnel committee and the Pastor Nominating committee. After our long time pastor(who was a yoked pastor with the church we merged with) retired, I was in charge of hiring both an Interim pastor and our current pastor. As strange as it might sound to some, I’ve felt that I have been doing what I was kept here to do after my health issues. And then the pandemic hit. As a member of Session, mine was one of the votes, after much consideration, that was cast to close the church and all church activities until our national and state leaders tell us it’s safe to reopen. I especially agonized over the loss of the children in Sunday School and I still feel we aren’t doing enough in consideration of the children’s spiritual needs during the pandemic. However, I do feel that I am learning more and am being refreshed with the online teaching and devotions we’ve been having Monday through Friday along with our online Sunday services. I also have a niece who is a pastor and she leads online worship which I watch. One of my weaknesses is that I’m not properly schooled in the scriptures and I feel that the pandemic has helped me in that respect. I describe our new pastor as a “preacher/teacher” as he is very good at leading you through the scriptures and teaching God’s word, so in a way, the pandemic has helped me and I hope I’m of better service to my church when this is all over. So I hope this is helpful and what you’re looking for. My granddaughter who has certainly been one of God’s gifts to me, asked me to do this and I hope I haven’t let her down. God bless you!

• Covid-19 and Holy Week

  I am a 20-year-old Episcopal Student who studies at the University of Texas. The Episcopal Diocese of Texas began altering ritual life on Sunday March 8, 2020 when the laity was told not to dip the bread into the common cup of the Eucharist, but laity members could either take the host in one form, or drink from the common cup. The rational was that there were more germs on your hands then on your lips. On this Sunday I chose to take to the only the bread since I made little sense to me to drink from one cup. By the following Sunday of March 15 all in person services were cancelled by the Bishop and transitioned to zoom Church. Fr. Travis the missionary at the Episcopal Church on the UT campus saw little sense in continuing the eucharist via zoom so the community switched to Evening Prayer. The Episcopal Student Center also began offering offices from the Daily Hours on Instagram. The biggest change in ritual life happened on Holy Week, our community switched from evening prayer to using the Liturgy of the Word- which is the first part of Eucharistic liturgy. Services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil were all prerecorded. The distance caused by the Covid-19 pandemic made the remaining time of Lent and Holy Week for intense. Especially the narratives about Jesus feeling abandoned. I personal on this Good Friday watch the Last Temptation of Christ – which helped me rely on a more human side of Jesus during this time. A big change for the way I engaged with services stems from my role as an acolyte, which is eliminated via zoom church, so I adapted and have read in almost all the services since being online.

• Family leaning on religion in the time of crisis/finding new "truths"

  I have two stories to describe. The first is about my Father and his ability to put complete trust in his religion during the COVID-19 crisis. My Father has always been religion and recently has been dealing with becoming older. Things such as joint pain, falls, and general wellness. But recently, he has slowly started to trust in modern medicine and instead pray and fast for its healing abilities. During the pandemic, my father has made statements like, "I don't live in fear. No enemy can hurt me becuase I believe in God." Furthermore, I would like to add even though he believes this way, he still will obey a rule and certain regulations, such as wearing a face mask. The second story is more of an interesting product of how pandemics can change people's views. I have a cousin that has never shown interesting in conspiracy theories or government corruption. However, during the pandemic post on FaceBook from them have been about "finding the truth," and "has opened their eyes." They claim that the Illuminati is behind COVID-19 and that certain people such as Bill Gates have known about this. In fact, the virus was created and possibly fake (their claim)? They have very little to no evidence to prove any claims they are posting. I just found it interesting that during a stressful time, they turned to conspiracy theories rather than a religion like my Father.

• Pandemic in the Midst of Junior Year

  I am a 21-year-old attending Missouri State University and currently a junior. I attend a Christian church every Sunday. Although due to the global pandemic, my church has had to close it's doors. I now watch videos posted weekly on my church's website of our pastors preaching. I believe that this pandemic would be impossible to survive without technology at this time. I also meet with my small group through my church weekly as well via Zoom calls. This has been a major transition and not one that anyone is overly thrilled about, but I am thankful that I can still have a sense of community even from afar.