The Church's Response to Covid 19

Conclusion Looking back, 2020 is one of those years that many of us are thankful to be past. The Corona Virus, that still ravages the world as of the time of my writing, has taught us many things: the fragility of human life, the interconnectedness of our global community, and perhaps also how much our values have become misplaced. The constant rush of the pre-COVID world has given way to a forced change of pace; certain cultural idols have been shaken; the inequalities of our Western society have become more obvious.

Speaking as a student of the Christian church, there have also been many aspects that we, institutionally speaking, have taken for granted, which this virus has brought into question and focus. Should the church be dependant on physical structures or activity-based programing?

What is to be the role of social media and the online world? How are we to define “church”? What practices and rituals have we taken for granted, which we find ourselves missing when they are taken away? How do we adapt our rituals and practices to a different context, ie. the online world? What is to be the church’s response to government mandates, particularly as it relates to the health and safety of our communities?

What even is the church’s role in the surrounding community?

This collection of student essays, though not explicitly asking these questions, definitely show that these are some of the queries that come to the foreground, along with certain theological quandaries, such as how to interpret the pandemic in light of God’s goodness and sovereignty; the struggle with evil in a good but broken world; and the ironic timing of the shutdowns to the holiday that we all know as Easter – one that Christians point to as central for our faith. This annual holiday reminds us Christians of the fact that our hope is centered on the very real shameful suffering and death of our Lord, Jesus, on the Cross, and then the amazing news of his resurrection – a hope that we may also look forward to on the day when he returns in glory. Yet, how does the church represent this hope in a world that seems devoid of hope, 217