ISR COVID-19 Blog

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Institute for Social Responsibility COVID-19 Blog Perspectives

Ministry without the Ministered: Reflections from a Vicar in Lockdown 30th April 2020 Rev John Davis s a Church of England Vicar, like other A professionals called to work in local community the idea of this lockdown has been a tremendous shock. I am learning to cope (but not very well!). Ministers of the Gospel are called to preach, teach and minister God’s love in community; isolation is a very painful and difficult antithesis to that. The lockdown challenges the Church and all of us in a number of ways: Firstly, the physical isolation from people whom we love in our wider family and friends including members of our flock. For someone like me – who has been suspicious of social media, fearing that people forget what real friendship is, a new movement has arisen to inform people of what we are offering using Facebook and Twitter, Zoom and other social media platforms on PCs, phones and tablets. I created my first ever video sermon last week. In common with all public speakers (including stand-up comedians!) we know that preaching is about reacting to the people who are ‘present’ as well as just sharing your pre-prepared thoughts. Reaction is stifled as I always look to discern the Holy Spirit at work within each individual. Secondly, with strict rules in place, most people have cancelled their weddings due to numbers being limited to 5. Church funerals are no longer permitted; each ceremony in cemetery chapels and crematoria limit mourner numbers to around 10 with the option of live streaming services for family and friends who are blessed with access to IT. We have recently lost two members of our congregation; there will certainly need to be a number of memorial services after lockdown as people are feeling extremely cheated from expressing their grief. The pain of not being able to properly mourn or celebrate their contribution to the community is palpable.

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As well as concern for relationships distanced, bereavement and sacramental isolation there are also severe financial implications for churches and Dioceses. As with other charities and businesses the Church is losing fees, charges and collections along with other forms of financial and volunteer support. For many organisations, large or small, this will be critical. However, the major questions for us all are theological and social. I do want to ask what sort of society we want to be in the future, when we seek to bring justice for all which is at the heart of Christianity. Perhaps appreciating each other more, looking out for the poor, elderly and vulnerable, keeping fit, learning how to cook healthily, polluting the planet less and taking the NHS and other public and shared services much more seriously. Whilst experiencing this lock down we can all reflect on the kind of society we want to build; perhaps now appreciating things we had forgotten. As a person of faith I want to challenge us all to look forward with hope to build a better, more inclusive and safer future for everyone in our world. Love, justice and peace must be paramount. Rev John Davis of ‘Together Liverpool’ and the Church Urban Fund is an ISR Visiting Fellow.


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Returning to ‘normal’: Better or Worse for those with special need and/or disabilities?

2min
page 51

To the Moon and Back: Summing up the ISR/EHU Covid-19 Blog

10min
pages 53-56

Staging Apocalypse: Endgame, by Samuel Beckett

2min
page 52

Covid-19: Liberation from the Clock (for some

2min
page 50

Listen up! Schools have always been much more than places for Education

2min
page 49

Experts at Bereavement?

2min
page 48

Covid-19, Higher Education and the rise of video-based learning

2min
page 47

Streaming and CGI? The future of TV and Film after COVID-19?

2min
page 44

Can the new Labour Leadership Rise to the Challenge?

2min
page 46

Creative Resilience and going OFFLine during Lockdown

2min
page 45

Covid-19: Hollywood’s Next 9/11?

2min
page 43

Towards a ‘Next Normal’: HE and Reflection at Speed

2min
page 42

Epidemics: A View from Italy

2min
page 41

Covid-19: An Opportunity for Nature and Outdoor Education

2min
page 40

Emerging from Lockdown: Shared Experience as we (re)commune together

2min
page 39

How to Stay ‘Engaged’ at a Distance: Youth Work and COVID-19

2min
page 35

Everyday Creativity: Why the Arts need to Rethink What Matters

2min
page 38

Coming Out” and Covid-19

2min
page 36

Flattening the Acceptance Curve: Transitioning a more Inclusive World after COVID-19

2min
page 34

Pandemics, Prohibition and the Past: COVID-19 in Historical Perspective

2min
page 33

We Make the Road by Walking: A ‘Kinder’ Society after COVID-19?

2min
page 37

Constructing a ‘New Normal’: What Changes when it’s all over?

2min
page 32

The Road to Nowhere? Tourism after Covid-19

3min
page 31

COVID-19 and Child Abuse in Institutions

2min
page 30

Citizen Science to tackle Poor Air Quality post COVID-19

3min
page 29

Images in the Head; the Pervasiveness of Dreaming in Isolation

3min
page 28

Dig where you stand: Histories of where you live in a Global Pandemic

2min
page 27

Blitzed by Myths: The ‘Spirit’ of the Blitz and COVID-19

3min
page 26

New Realities? New Culture? What next for HR post Covid-19?

2min
page 25

Temporary or Fixed? Changing Business Models in a Global Pandemic

2min
page 24

An Outcome of the Coronavirus Outbreak

2min
page 23

Re-imagining a ‘Good Society’ in the wake of COVID-19

2min
page 22

Lockdown and Educational Inequality: Some Reflections

2min
page 21

Coronavirus and Calais refugees: How can you stay safe without soap?

2min
page 20

Wither Fake News: COVID-19 and its Impact on Journalism

2min
page 19

COVID-19: Lockdown when you are Locked Up

2min
page 17

Ministry without the Ministered: Reflections from a Vicar in Lockdown

2min
page 16

In Troubled Times, Philosophy CAN Help

2min
page 18

COVID-19 & the (dis)proportionate case for lockdown

3min
page 14

Who Needs Society? Authoritarianism and COVID-19

2min
page 15

What future for the politician’s ‘Direct Address’?

4min
page 12

COVID-19 lockdown: What are the implications for individual freedom?

2min
page 13

Fingerprints, DNA and Policing Powers during COVID-19

3min
page 9

What is the new ‘normal’? Autism, Routine and Covid-19

3min
page 11

Lockdown 2020 – The Impact on Social Care

1min
page 8

Hannah Arendt: A Theorist for Troubled Times

2min
page 10

Back in the USSR: C-19 and the Normalising of a Surveillance State

2min
page 3

The Arts and COVID-19: A Time of Danger and Opportunity?

2min
page 7

Where is the Balance – Democracy in the Lockdown

4min
page 6

Is it kindness that matters?

7min
pages 4-5
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