We moved forward ten years in ten crisis of Covid might leave behind Weeks: Moderator on why the a stronger, more modern Kirk
A more compassionate society where faith plays an increased role in supporting people and communities could be part of the pandemic’s enduring legacy, according to the moderator of the Church of Scotland.
The Right Reverend Dr Martin Fair, whose year as moderator of the general assembly has been dominated by the challenges of Covid, believes the shock of coping with the pandemic could help forge a stronger and more modern Kirk. The last 10 months have been an unprecedented challenge for the church, like all institutions, as congregations and ministers struggled to find a new normal. Comforting the ill and the bereaved in person became impossible and churches were forced to close their doors to worshippers for the first time in history as congregating anywhere, even in Scotland’s places of worship, was banned. However, Dr Fair believes the rush to use technology to find new platforms for worship has allowed far more people to be reached than just traditional church-goers. Services have reached audiences up to four times larger than those who were attending church as people turned to faith to help them cope with the uncertainty of life during Covid-19.
People also stepped up to help the most vulnerable, and Dr Fair believes people’s priorities have shifted and they have rediscovered a sense of community, which could help the Church flourish in the future. He said: “You can’t live life on your own so we’ve found ways to interact and I think the Church has been very central to that and will be part of what we very much emphasise as we go forward. “Sometimes as you come through a crisis you do re-evaluate your own life and what’s important and what matters to you.
“I would not be at all surprised if folk looked to continue an association with churches, and maybe some will never come through the door but the thing is the church is absolutely committed to continuing the online engagement and understanding that that will be what works for some people.
“We will be thinking of what membership of churches means in a new way as a result of this. It’s going to be much broader. Some people will be very invested in them locally, some people will connect remotely and perhaps in looser ways but the Church will definitely offer a channel for people who want to express that desire to care and be compassionate for those in need.
“The church has always been to the fore on that, and so people that have rediscovered that within their own selves might well find that through the church they can express some of that.
“We were already moving in this direction but this has accelerated it. Somebody said to me early in lockdown that we’ve advanced 10 years in 10 weeks and that’s about right.” Dr Fair began his year-long term as moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland last May, during the first national lockdown. Instead of taking on the traditional role of travelling and meeting politicians, he has been involved with supporting ministers and inspiring them to embrace the changes. Without the collections on a Sunday or fees for weddings and other church services, finances have been challenging but Dr Fair is encouraged by statistics showing the number of people using search terms related to prayer or God online increased by more than 100%. He said: “That would be an indication that people were asking questions, people were wondering about some of these deeper questions, and for me that was really born out of the realisation in some ways of our own fallibility as humans or our own fragility. We often tell ourselves that we’re pretty much in charge of our own destinies, then this came along and suddenly challenged that.
“So I think a lot of people were asking deeper questions, and people don’t necessarily associate the asking of those questions with showing up at a church on a Sunday morning.
“But the availability of so much by way of an online church and spirituality more widely, I think gave people an entrée.”
Dr Fair’s own church, St Andrews Parish Church in Arbroath, Angus, had already been streaming services online for six years but now it
is happening at almost every church around the country.
Some ministers seized the opportunity to be more creative online while others who were less techsavvy were supported by colleagues in operating Zoom and uploading ready-made services. Worshippers who were unable to participate online were supported to join in on the phone, or print-outs of services were delivered to their homes. Dr Fair believes the work has helped the Church combat its stuffy, traditional image.
He added that the process began before Covid-19 to sell off surplus properties so congregations could focus on people rather than
fundraising to maintain ageing buildings. The married father of three said: “We do have to continually work against a negative perception, and the reality is it is just perception because knowing the Church as I do across the country it is much more creative and brighter than some would give it credit for. “This has given us the opportunity to show some of that and maybe as we go forward to throw off some of those perceptions and prove that the church is meaningful.
“A lot of people don’t consider themselves to be religious. Neither do I in many ways. I much prefer the word spiritual. When you engage with ordinary folk who might never come near the church, almost everybody is spiritual in one sense or another. Christians can be absolutely 21st Century, not stuck in the past, and very much engaged with wider society.”
One of the key challenges for ministers during the pandemic has been finding ways to support the sick, dying and bereaved with limited face-to-face contact.
The Church has provided ministers with extra pastoral care and they also use a private Facebook group where they can be supported by colleagues.
Dr Fair has phoned more than 500 ministers since he was appointed, and his opening gambit is always: “How are you doing?”
He said: “With funerals, having to conduct bereavement visits ahead of the funeral on Zoom, not being able to be right there with people to give hugs and things, has been really, really tough on ministers.
“Obviously as a result of circumstances you just have to get on with it but I know that it’s been really hard for ministers, without doubt.
“I think they’ve found that probably about the hardest thing. Feeling that they’re not able to be as pastorally present as they would want to be.”
But he believes the Church’s efforts during Covid-19 have strengthened its foundations and seen it reconnect with people and make them its priority.
He said: “I continue to be really hopeful for the life of the Church of Scotland, and if I didn’t think that quite honestly I would probably go and find another job.
“If I thought I was just going to be involved in something that was just going to run down and basically in the end we would close the last church, put the milk bottles out and turn the lights out then I would go and do something more fruitful with my life, I really would.
“But I don’t feel that at all, I feel great hope for the Church in the 21st Century as we go forward and that’s exciting.
“It will require us to be creative and innovative and to shake the dust off in some ways. Some of our practices belonged in the past, we need to discern which things we need to let go of and which new things we need to pick up. If we get that balance just right then we will be on a good track.
“So not that for one moment I say that we welcome Covid because there’s been such tragedy associated with it, but we might well look back and say that out of all the struggles and frustrations actually we learned some stuff and there is the potential for us to emerge stronger on the other side.”
People are asking deeper questions and we can help find the answers