Welcome to the apocalypse.
Just kidding. It’s not quite the apocalypse. But it is a pandemic.
You know it’s bad when Catholic bishops prohibit their priests from holding public worship and city officials forbid gatherings of more than 50 people.
Personally, I totally agree that it is time to minimize public contact, including worship services, because there’s still time to make a difference in the United States.
AND, at the same time, I know social isolation is a real issue. So, let’s get creative. Let’s dive into digital ministry.
But wait a minute. Maybe you’re not sure that it’s time to pull the plug on public worship.
Here’s what convinced me: this Italian doctor is imploring Americans to take individual measures to self-isolate. For her, it’s already too late–she and her colleagues are completely overwhelmed by the influx of severe coronavirus cases. She, along with the New York Times, reports that Italian doctors are having to make heartwrenching, utilitarian decisions about who receives oxygen and intubation–and who doesn’t.
If you’re still unsure, check out this memo from the Italian College of Intensive Care to Italian doctors. It likens their moral choices to “wartime triage.” The memo tells doctors that they may need to terminate care for the elderly and those with preexisting conditions in order to care for patients with a better chance of survival.
All of these articles emphasize that the U.S. still has a chance to prevent things from getting that bad. I strongly believe that church leaders have a crucial role in encouraging social distancing. Churchgoers, especially elderly ones, may value your advice more than that of government officials.
Nevertheless, the responsibility to provide pastoral care doesn’t go away, especially for the elderly and vulnerable. Loneliness and isolation are no small matters in our society right now.
Here’s where digital ministry comes in. You do not need to choose between pastoral care and safe practices.
During the mass power outages in California, I wrote an article on how churches can respond to natural disasters, much of which involved digital ministry. Here are some ideas for ministry during extreme social distancing.
Digital ministry began long before the COVID-19, and hopefully, you’ve already engaged in it in some form (especially if you’re interested in reaching out to Millennials). Here are a few key ideas and resources for engaging in digital ministry during an outbreak:
1. Help seniors get connected.
The people who most need pastoral care right now are the least technologically-connected group: seniors. You can fix that.
No matter what digital ministry options you choose–and there are quite a few outlined below–make sure they’re accessible to those who suffer most from social isolation.
Most seniors now have a smartphone, tablet, or computer with wifi. Get on the phone and walk them through the process of opening a livestream of worship or calling their family and friends on FaceTime.
If they’ve got social media, make sure they’re friends with other congregation members, who can check in on them. Help them join church social media groups or follow your accounts.
Patience is key. Having spent a significant amount of time helping elders learn their way around technology, I’ve found that you can connect them to just about anything, given enough time and patience.
If you’ve got a lot of seniors in your church, this might sound like an overwhelming task. Round up your youth group or other young members. Give them a list of phone numbers, and ask them to help you out.
Bingo–an intergenerational ministry out of a crisis.
Either way, it’s crucial to be serious about reducing social isolation among the elderly, and technology can help us.
2. Livestream services
You’ve got two options here. Livestream your service yourself, or connect your parishioners to other churches’ livestreams.
If you want to opt for the former, the St. Paul’s Cathedral in San Diego put together a video on 4 Easy Steps to Livestream your Worship. Here’s another good article by the Episcopal Church.
If you’re nervous about live streaming yourself, it’s less complicated than you think. I promise.
But maybe that’s not possible for you. In that case, here are links to live-streamed Sunday worship services by denomination:
- Episcopal (11am PST): https://saintmarks.org/worship/live-stream/
- Presbyterian (9 and 11am EST): http://nationalpres.org/live?_ga=2.41684709.6925417.1584057239-1981184579.1584057239
- Methodist: (9:30 and 11am EST): https://www.trinityumc.net/watchlive/
- Lutheran (Saturdays, 4pm and 6pm; Sundays 8am, 9:45, and 11:30am EST): https://www.hope2all.org/worship/live-stream
- American Baptist (11am EST): http://viennabc.org/live/
- UCC (10am PST): https://www.firstchurchberkeley.org/watch/
- Catholic (Pope Francis now offers daily Mass in Rome, which is streamed and archived here): http://www.catholictv.org/shows/pope-francis-daily-mass
3. Commit to Calls
Maybe you’ve got some members of your church that you’re specifically worried about. If so, make a list and commit to calling them every day. FaceTime them if possible.
Of course, this list probably includes seniors. But be sure to think of health care workers, grocery store employees, and others who need extra pastoral care.
Likely, there are too many people for you to call frequently, so delegate. Chances are, there are other leaders in the church who are out of work and have extra time on their hands.
4. Social Media
Most of your church members are probably on Facebook. If you don’t have a church account, set one up and send out the link of the page to your email list.
There’s a lot of stuff you can do. Post several times a day with encouraging Bible quotes, poems, and thoughts. Keep people updated with the latest recommendations from your government and church officials.
Even better, live-stream some content. During a hurricane in her community, Rev. Katie Churchwell started Pop-up Prayer, which turned out to be immensely popular.
Do a mini-sermon. Pray the Daily Office or a rosary. Lead a meditation. Just read straight out of the Bible. Sing hymns.
I don’t care. Your parishioners probably won’t, either. The important thing is that they see your face, hear your voice, and are encouraged.
If you’re looking for other great resources on digital ministry, check out my friend Kyle Oliver’s excellent articles for encouragement and resources.
These are just a few ideas for remote ministry during COVID-19. But if you take anything away from this article, take away this: You don’t need to choose between physical care and spiritual care for parishioners. You can be just as good a pastor during a quarantine as you are during normal ops.
If you’ve got any other ideas, please comment below so others can use them!
2 Replies to “Comprehensive Digital Ministry during COVID-19”
Comments are closed.