Blog

When we celebrated Mass on the Solemnity of St. Joseph last year, there was an eerie silence as people left the Church. We were lost. We did not know what to do. Many felt abandoned and cut off from their faith. It was a difficult day. Few of us would ever have thought that almost a year later, we would still be struggling with Covid-19. Many of us were not prepared for the pandemic and for the impact that it would have on our lives: personally, socially, spiritually and emotionally. It will take us a long time to recover and a lot of healing will be much needed in society and also in the Church. Apart from an online weekly bulletin on our parish Facebook page, we were ill-prepared. However, as the weeks went on, many of us realized that doing nothing was not an option. We embraced digital technology to keep in touch with as many people as possible. Initially, a weekly reflection was offered on the parish Facebook page, followed some weeks later with the streaming of mass and on the first Sunday of Advent, a new website was launched for the parishes of St. Mary’s Duntocher and St. Joseph’s Faifley. Suddenly, our connectedness went far beyond the physical boundaries of both parishes. 

Parishioners responded, and many people feel they belong, once again, to their community of faith. That is important for us and through our social media we are able to alert our parishioners to the many creative online offerings from other parishes. Therefore, when places of worship were asked to close in January, we did not panic. Our parish communities did not experience that same sense of loss that they had in March. The work and encouragement of people in both parishes over the last nine months had paid off and reluctantly we defaulted, once again, to digital liturgy. We know it is not ideal; we know it is not the same as being in Church and we know it is not perfect.  But we are in a better place to face the current crisis. 

There is one question that many people ask: “What is the post-pandemic parish going to look like?”  We do not know, but it will be different.  Perhaps, Pope Francis in “Evangelii Gaudium” gives us the answer: “I dream, of a “missionary option,” that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, languages and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.” (EG 27). Will we respond to his invitation?  

NB:  this blog first appeared in the March 2021 edition of Flourish, the Archdiocese of Glagsow publication.