28.05.2020
‘People Still Need Us’ – New Report Looks at Churches’ Responses to Pandemic
“People Still Need Us’ is the title of a major new report on faith communities on the island of Ireland during the Covid–19 pandemic. The report is based on research carried out by Queen’s University Belfast and the Irish Council of Churches/Irish Inter–Church Meeting. It found that 89 percent of faith leaders said that faith had helped people cope with stress during the pandemic. They provided examples of people praying more and people who had previously demonstrated no interest in faith or religion tuning in to religious services or seeking prayer.
The research also highlights the huge leap in the provision of online worship opportunities during the pandemic. Before the pandemic 44 percent of faith communities did not provide worship online. Now only 13 percent do not offer online worship, according to the research. It also suggests that 70 percent of respondents would retain some aspect of their online ministries once restrictions on gatherings are lifted.
The research is based on survey of around 400 clergy from across the island of Ireland. It summarises potential lessons for Churches which could be learned from ministering through the Covid–19 pandemic.
Written by Dr Gladys Ganiel from Queen’s University Belfast, ‘People Still Need Us’ indicates that Christian leaders and communities have not only played important roles in providing pastoral care and social services during the pandemic, but there is also evidence of increased prayer and high levels of online religious practice among people on the island.
Dr Ganiel, worked with the General Secretary of the ICC, Dr Nicola Brady, and representatives of member denominations to develop the survey questions. It was distributed to more than 2,000 faith leaders, with 439 usable responses received from every county on the island.
The report provides a snapshot of how leaders and communities are adapting in a time of rapid and disorientating change. It also shows how people of faith are grieving, coping, moving religion online and serving the wider community, and how leaders are coping with the stresses of ministry. The title is taken from the words of one of the respondents.
You can read the full report here: https://www.irishchurches.org/cmsfiles/resources/People-Still-Need-Us-May-2020.pdf