Pandemic Religion: A Digital Archive

Items

• First Free Methodist Church method of conducting religious services as of May 17th

  Instead of moving ceremonies to an online format, members of the First Free Methodist Church have elected to have "drive in" services.

• Be Still...

  "Lord, still my raging mind so when all is silent I shall know your voice." Henri Nouwen During the pandemic we have all found ourselves as shut ins. The news and social media have been over run with stories of isolation, along with its impact. However, in concert virtual groups have sprung up. Social media has been a go to for a sense of community and spiritual refuge. Friend groups have structured ways to stay connected, while remaining at least six (6) feet apart, in an effort to nurture each other. Places of worship have become savvy in streaming and ZOOM bible studies. The resourcefulness of the human spirit has been profound. I have felt these efforts were indeed examples of how God enters into the circumstances of our lives, and works within them to bestow grace. Oddly, the predicament of being human is to feel alone, with or without a pandemic. The biblical narrative is themed with separation and the anxiety thereof. When we are separated we feel vulnerable. In moments of angst our reaction is to take action to fill the void. The void of social contact is difficult. I have found the void best filled by embracing the silence, and within that silence seeking God. Peace within faith has been my personal experience during the pandemic. Being still, allowing the solitude to wash over me and soak me with the confidence of God's presence. This time of uncertainty has allowed me to silently seek God's companionship. During this pandemic, I have rediscovered the value of taking refuge in stillness with God. My pondering has fostered a new awareness of gratitude. Gratitude is the bridge from helplessness to confidence that faith does not surrender to our fears. Faith does not yield to pandemics, and all the harsh trappings it brings. My experience during the pandemic has been to rely up the words of a profound theologian, while taking comfort in my isolation.
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  All That We Need

  Material created by Amana Udis-Kessler for liberal and progressive churches to use during the COVID-19 epidemic, free of charge and with no licensing concerns. A song that might be used for centering music in worship, All That We Need is about people choosing beauty, love, and kindness during the pandemic.
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  Just Such a Time as This

  Material created by Amana Udis-Kessler for liberal and progressive churches to use during the COVID-19 epidemic, free of charge and with no licensing concerns. A worship song inspired by Esther 4, called Just Such a Time as This, specifically about how faith communities should see ourselves in this time of pain and challenge.
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  In the Breaking of the Bread

  Material created by Amana Udis-Kessler for liberal and progressive churches to use during the COVID-19 epidemic, free of charge and with no licensing concerns. While the text of this worship song is not COVID-specific, it's relevant because it was recorded for virtual service use specifically and has been used that way.
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  We Are Gathered

  Material created by Amana Udis-Kessler for liberal and progressive churches to use during the COVID-19 epidemic, free of charge and with no licensing concerns. This song is sung to the tune of "Nettleton (Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing)"
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  Saint Dymphna

  Tweet from Tommy Tighe (@theghissilent), reading: "looking at the image of saint dymphna we have hanging on our wall and asking for her intercession for all of us remember, mental health symptoms are not a result of a personal failure, not a result of failing to believe enough or have enough faith I’m praying for you!!"
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  Going Viral: St. Ambrose Parish, Father Tim Palec, and the Blessing of the Easter Foods

  In mid-May, Father Tim Palec went viral for the way he maintained St. Ambrose's traditional Blessing of the Easter Food Baskets. Dressed in protective gear and using a water gun, Father Palec maintained social distance while carrying out the traditional blessings in a nontraditional manner. The drive-thru blessing took place on April 11, but quickly became viral about a month later (even appearing in several news articles). An image of Father Palec with the water gun made its way to a subreddit called r/photoshopbattles, where redditors photoshopped Father Palec onto movie posters and into a multitude of different scenes, ranging from Star Wars to World War II to exoricisms to a crusade and more. In addition to becoming a viral meme, the church has also stood out for the way it has honored and memorialized Michigan's victims of COVID-19: they've tied a ribbon for each life lost on the trees in front of their church. St. Ambrose Parish offers Sunday mass through Facebook live and their website, and shares posts about different ways members can help the greater community during the pandemic.
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  Lawn Chair Church Service

  We were able with permission of our state and local governments to resume church services this week but it had to be outside with social distancing. It was so wonderful to see everyone again. It was like a big family reunion. We all brought lawn chairs and sat outside and worshipped our Lord. There was a special section of parking spots reserved for those at high risk so they could come and be a part of things from their cars. And it was still live streamed for those who didn’t want to leave their house or couldn’t. We sang together and prayed together. It was so wonderful. Through all of this I have learned how wonderful it is to worship with your church family. Thankful for Zoom and live-streaming but nothing beats being together.
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  Covid Tears

  I describe a piece of fiber art I created related to how I felt before and during the coronavirus pandemic.
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  Study on the Effect of Isolation on the Prayer Lives of Catholic Illini

  Study on the effect of isolation on the prayer lives of Catholic students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Sunday Worship in a New Way

  When the Governor of Texas issued an order forbidding gatherings of more than 10, the staff of this smallish congregation pivoted rather nimbly. The earlier videos of worship experiences are more like traditional worship than not. They gradually grow less dependent on the church sanctuary. We have not previously had much of a web presence.
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  Reverend

  We started livestreaming our worship on Facebook (photo with pianist) from the sanctuary (3 or 4 of us in attendance), and doing our Bible studies, prayer meetings and other meetings on Zoom (Zoom photo). We've found a HUGE increase in attendance, and connections every Sunday with people who used to be just Christmas/Easter worshipers. Giving has actually increased, and people are doing a great job of staying connected in so many ways. It's been eye-opening. We've definitely learned that we'll continue livestreaming after the pandemic, and probably should have been doing it all along.

• Andrew Wommack Ministries Newsletter

  Pastor Andrew Wommack, who is a friend of my Mom has been sending out newsletters to the millions who follow or belong to his church. That highlight developments in the ministry and answers to the questions he has been getting in response to adapting to the current pandemic.

• At Home Communion

  Since churches have been closed my Mother and my grandmother have been doing at communion at home at the regular time we would have been doing it at church service. The steps are the same, a short message from scripture followed by thanking Christ for sacrificing His body. After thanks, they partake in the eating of the bread. After that they give thanks for the blood shed on the cross, and then partake in the drinking of the wine. Be able to participate in communion anywhere is great and I am blessed that this ritual is not halted due to the pandemic.

• Church Service at Home

  My brother's church National Community Church have have been hosting online services and worship open to anyone who wants to join. Services take place on Saturday @ 5pm and Sunday @ 9am & 11am. This is a great way for anyone who is missing their usual church gatherings to enjoy an amazing worship band, and insightful sermon.
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  Easter from behind the steering wheel

  This year's Easter service was unlike any I have experienced before. Unable to gather together face-to-face, we sought to be together (while remaining appropriately socially distanced) by having a drive-in service in the church parking lot, complete with music and sermon being broadcast over the radio. Noting this strikingly unusual view of an Easter bulletin -- juxtaposed against a steering wheel and a rainy windshield -- I snapped a photo.
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  Burial Rituals and COVID

  This is my reflection on the inability of my family to gather together to mourn my brother's death, to conduct services and to bury him.
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  God The Ingenious Alchemist and The Path of Healing

  This online church service incorporates live music, scripture, children's time, and a sermon to talk about some of the challenges surrounding COVID and the healing process.

• 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.