After the event… the future of the church after the virus

For those who are part of central planning in dioceses and the national church the question that will increasingly be on the horizon over the next month is ‘what happens after the virus?’ Will people return to church? Will the virus particularly affect the congregations of the church? Will live streaming continue to be popular? How might this, and an ongoing culture of social distancing, change our worship? Who will be providing this worship? How can this worship be sustained if people do not physically come to church and financially support it?

So, some thoughts:

The dangers: Gnosticism. The chief danger in all this is that Christianity becomes rather virtual and cerebral during the lockdown. If Christianity becomes chiefly something that we think on our own, then we have lost significant chunks of the Christian message. Christians believe that the word became flesh, not an image on a computer screen, and we celebrate this in physical sacraments. We are also a physical community. The first thing that Jesus does during his ministry is to call disciples, and the first significant event after the resurrection is Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples to forms them into the community of the church. Christians rightly should reject a disembodied Gnosticism that stresses only personal religious experience, for the life of Christ described in the Gospels is one in which physical life and community are significant.

The opportunities: Evangelism. Despite all the theological dangers there is a great opportunity here if we seize it. Normally morning prayer in the cathedral is attended by a gathering of around 7. At present several hundred people tune into the Facebook Live-Stream at some point during the day. Our daily office worship has been re-orientated away from the needs of a few clergy towards those of the general public watching at home. This gives us a huge opportunity to engage de-churched and unchurched people with the Christian story. Churches need to be pro-active to seize the opportunities that Live-Streaming can bring so, for instance, a cathedral choral evensong normally attended by around 20 people could be streamed to several hundred.

The challenges: Resources. The greatest challenge will relate to resources. Those churches that have truly excellent worship (whether traditional choral or modern) and are able to engage with modern means of communication (and buy the relevant kit) will be those that are able to engage with the opportunities for mission. The use of Live-Streaming and virtual conference programmes demonstrates that church life is heading in two directions. Firstly, the demand for high quality large scale worship that is inspiring and professional. Secondly, the desire for community in smaller groups. Clearly, cathedrals and larger churches can provide the former. The challenge for smaller churches is the degree to which they can provide the latter. In evangelical circles this twofold approach has been happening for some time: large worship gatherings backed up with home groups. The challenge for dioceses will be in creating benefice units that are capable of supporting such a life.

A good deal will depend on how long the current lockdown lasts, and our response when restrictions are ended, but the church of 2021 may be very different to that of 2019.