In search of the church against Covid-19

. . . virtual sermons gather momentum The novel coronavirus has altered the socioeconomic way of life with far reaching effects on Christian fellowship.

MOST believers had been accustomed to traditional ways of worship, gathering, and sharing sermons that instilled a sense of hope and diversion from daily struggles.

Covid-19 has changed places; rules and everyday routines and some of these changes will be temporary and others permanent.

As renowned theologist, Rumsey (2017) rightfully notes, mankind behaves differently when faced with overwhelming circumstances depending with the place and rules that govern them.

That has been the case with the church today in light of Covid-19, giving rise to the need for robust and comprehensive virtual communication.

Most Zimbabweans have gone digital as they strive to fill the gap left when physical methods of worship were scrapped off the scene.

John 6 vs 35 states that “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’.”

This gospel has come to life in Zimbabwe as internet connectivity has resultantly and rapidly increased in the church. Virtual church services were an uncommon practice by Christian denominations not only in Zimbabwe, but globally.

Christian indoctrination found encouragement in Hebrews 10:25 (NIV) to “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Open access, online inter-sacred space that emerges during a virtual service provides opportunities for members of congregations in lockdown at home to share in worship as well as for visitors to participate.

Participating in a virtual service from home transforms the space into an intrasecular place incorporating religious and secular functions.

The rapid growth of mobile phone services has been gradually getting the attention of church leaders to conduct digital sermons — a development that has been hailed by many. Social media plays a fundamen- tal role in mobilising religious action and creating networked transnational publics that can be vehicles of religious change.

However, there are challenges associated with digital sermons in the case of Zimbabwe where internet costs are high, infrastructure is poor and occasional power outages are among a host of factors.

There is, therefore, a risk that some congregants are left out, especially in marginalised communities such as Bikita, Zaka, Gutu and Buhera and, for congregants with access to internet connection, church sermons have become a “celebrity” status.

It has become imperative for churches around the globe to establish funds that are directed toward the facilitation of digital sermons that are accessible to everyone.

No congregant should be “left out” on the basis that they are poor, but rather it should be the responsibility of the church to cater for its “children” in these trying times. In the face of Covid-19, God wants us to do a better job of evangelising to our nation. Regardless of financial costs associated with digital sermons, we will continue with the Lord’s work for the real battle is spiritual. The church can effectively make use of social media to reclaim religious space.

The use of the internet to conduct sermons for “all” as an alternative discursive space of religious engagement for the marginalised groups, commonly referred to as subaltern, is the way to go.

However, a few concerns come to the fore.

Assuming that the sermon is a pre-recorded broadcast on a church WhatsApp group with an administrator with the sole responsibility of posting content, how do the congregants respond?

How do we know that the congregants are paying attention?

Furthermore, there is need to consider distinguishing between formally consecrated places (churches or chapels) and their congregants and other sites where religious and spiritual activities occur.

These are the many thought-provoking questions that the church is faced with in this contemporary digital way of life. With this in mind, the church is encouraged to conduct an all-inclusive sermon regardless of socio-economic status in society.

◆ Fr Tendai Reki Mashayamombe is a catholic priest and will be graduating with a Masters of Science in Media and Society Studies degree from MSU. He was ordained in 2013 and is currently working at Assumption of Our Lady in Highlands.