By: Russell Bowers

Over the last two years, the pandemic has disrupted daily lives and rituals that many never thought possible. Most have been deprived – sometimes by mandate, sometimes by choice – the simple act of gathering together as neighbours, friends and families.

One institution that has seen restrictions affect its practices is the Church. Regardless of faith or denomination, places of worship have seen a diminished ability to comfort others and provide solitude for reflection. 

However, as restrictions created obstacles, for some congregations, it has opened their eyes to new possibilities.

Reverend Amanda Taylor at St. Mark’s Anglican Church has noticed changes in how some demographics want to interact with her worship group.

‘Connection to Church’

“I don’t want to be too exclusive when I say this,” she begins, “but in a general sense, for our younger population, online is where it is for them. For my generation, we’re sort of in between and most times, there is no replacement for ‘in person.’ However, I spoke with one young person, probably 30-ish, and she made the comment, (COVID restrictions) ‘have been awesome for me because online is where I want to live.’”

Captain Sheldon Bungay of the Salvation Army has also noticed changes for his congregants.

“People’s entire connection to church, in general, has been impacted and changed,” he notes. 

“What COVID has done is speed up the inevitable. We were already moving away from thinking that church only happens within the four walls of a building. That we need to get outside and make an impact on our community, and be participants in the fight for justice and all those things. (The Pandemic) really pushed us ahead. So for me, that is putting volunteers and staff in place so we can increase our online presence. We’ve moved significantly to online at the St. John’s Temple.”

For many churches, online has meant broadcasting services via Facebook and other social platforms, as well as ecclesial websites. Yet, in the case of Reverend Oliver Dingwell, the timing has been serendipitous. His congregation at Cowan Heights United is his first since his ordination as a minister.

“The Seminary did not train me for this at all!” he laughs. “I graduated with my Master of Divinity, and the last three weeks of my degree studies were completely online.

“I think an advantage I had was that I wasn’t bogged down by things having to be done a certain way. So when it came to working together and troubleshooting to find creative solutions, I didn’t have too much baggage. Cowan Heights had been without a minister for two years, so they were willing to think outside the box as we navigated the initial stages of the pandemic. We were all open to trying new things, see what was going to work, and I was so grateful for them to take those kinds of risks.”

Tentative Nature

Reverends Taylor and Dingwell, as well as Capt Bungay are all relatively new in their roles at their respective churches. None knew what their parishioners were like or expected in the days before COVID. When restrictions in the province lifted on March 14, all noticed a tentative nature to the first Sunday that followed.

“We have vulnerable people in our community; seniors, the immunocompromised, we have children, and we wanted to make sure that everyone could feel safe,” remembers Rev. Dingwall.

“We still encourage physical distancing. We’re still asking people to wear masks as they move around the building. They can remove their masks if they are comfortable once they’re seated, but this past Sunday, of the 70 people in church, only two people took their masks off.”

At the Salvation Army Temple, Capt. Bungay noticed simple acts that were once commonplace took on new meaning for the 140 people attending services on March 20. 

“People were no longer offering their hand for a handshake, they were still keeping their distance a little bit,” he concedes. “In my pastoral role, showing up for people at their time of need is one of the most significant things we can do. Before, we would very quickly show up at a hospital bedside or in a person’s home. We no longer have that luxury and so a lot of our pastoral services have pivoted to online or through phone calls, distanced visits on a patio or front lawn.

“But,” he adds, “that’s key. Still showing up.”

Very Humbling

For most Christian denominations, Good Friday and Easter Sunday occupies a special place in the liturgical calendar and as those services come closer, all three officiants anticipate the possibility of different experiences. For Rev. Taylor, Easter Sunday will be her first sermon at St. Mark’s. Plus, it will be broadcast on NTV.

“When you’re in front of a congregation, you can read the body language to know when you’re resonating with people. But if they’re reading the bulletin or counting the tiles, then you can pivot. You say to yourself, ‘I got to shake it up.’ But when you’re looking at a webcam, you don’t get that, so it’s very humbling, because all you can do is go on to Facebook and we’d look up the numbers and say, ‘Oh, look, we’ve reached, a thousand people.’”

“COVID has forced us to rethink what should the Church be doing in 2022,” adds Capt. Bungay of the Salvation Army. 

“I think the days of sitting in a church expecting people to show up on our doorstep are very quickly moving beyond us. Now we need to be asking what does the Church do beyond its walls?

“And it’s not necessarily standing on a street corner with a bullhorn telling people about Christian values and what they should be doing with their lives. It’s simply coming alongside people, offering them help and hope. We need to get into the community, to remind people that they are loved – that they have their own gifts and talents and all those things are valued and loved and supported.” Ultimately, when it comes to the symbolism of Easter, much of what the world has been through is not lost on Rev. Dingwell.

See the Hope

“The Gospel of John says while it was still dark, Mary went to the tomb.  That’s kind of where we are – entering this season of joy, while it’s still dark. Just because the restrictions are gone, there is still this cold around us, a heaviness, an anxiety,” Rev. Dingwell explains.

“But we can see the light before us. And we can see the hope. In theological terms, we can see the hope in resurrection, of new life, new possibilities.

“Mary in the Gospel of John, doesn’t recognize Jesus after his resurrection and so, the Church is different coming out of COVID. Unless something like the pandemic happened to force us to think in new and creative ways, we just wouldn’t be doing them. There’s some real hope here for the kind of possibilities that lie ahead.”

For more visit: ntv.ca/category/programs/sunday-services/

As some prepare to celebrate Easter with family and friends this year, others won’t be gathered about tables piled high with food and sweets. 

Facing a variety of mental health challenges, addictions and life’s circumstances, many of our fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will spend the holy season quietly at home, or in safe havens like The Gathering Place in St. John’s. 

While there’s a whole host of reasons for being or feeling isolated, for too many the cause stems from abuse. 

The former Mount Cashel Orphanage, operated by the Irish Christian Brothers, is sadly well known for the abuse some of its staff and clergy inflicted upon young boys in their care during the 1940s, ‘50s and 60s. 

Described as Tragic

On Feb. 15th, 1989 the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary re-opened its 1975 investigation into child abuse on those premises. Soon after, the provincial government of the day established a Royal Commission, headed by retired Ontario Supreme Court Judge, Samuel Hughes, to investigate what occurred. 

What was uncovered could only be described as tragic, and bottom line, despite multiple and repeated complaints to authorities, everyone – from multiple government officials to the police to local newspapers – ignored what was being reported. Now, a generation later, following court battles galore, the local Catholic Church prepares to sell off many of their assets to pay restitution to those who suffered. 

As a result, many churches throughout the province will not be holding mass inside their stained-glass buildings this Easter season. The list of buildings and churches being sold to pay for the sins of those few in charge back in the day is long and few communities are spared.  

Basilica Complex will be sold. So too will St. Patrick’s and St. Teresa’s Parish churches. Corpus Christi, St. Pius X, the church that held so many heartfelt tribute services to those lost on the Ocean Ranger, Mary Queen of Peace Parish will all be sold. St. Edwards in Kelligrews too. Holy Family? Gone. St. Peter’s, St. Francis of Assisi, Holy Trinity. The list goes on. And the emotional impact is real. 

Generations were married in these churches. Children were baptized and received their first Holy Communion. Loved ones were laid to rest. Thousands upon thousands of school children over the years twisted and turned and squirmed in their wooden pews near friends doing the same as they were taught the rosary and learned to recite the well known prayer that begins, “Our Father…” as part of their schooling. Memories were made. 

Laughter was shared. Tears were shed. 

Feel the pain

Now? It’s all gone. What makes this tale of abuse and restitution even more sad is that none of this will go far enough. 

Lawyer Geoff Budden, who represents survivors, has said he’s pleased the Catholic Church is moving ahead selling assets to pay the awarded claim, which includes the Archbishop’s residence in Outer Cove, but the properties sold won’t go near far enough. 

The total judgement was for $2.7 million, to be split between four men, but the claims are not complete and there’s well over 60 more men from Budden’s law firm alone that require compensation for abuse suffered at the hands of those in a position of power within the Catholic church. Tragic. Sad. Terrible. 

It’s all those things, but while my heart breaks for all those who suffered abuse, I can’t help but feel the pain of the many parishioners who, though no fault of their own, following decades of faithful attendance and church dues, must now walk away from their church, never to return again. 

While restitution usually means dollar signs, it’s so clear that the costs runs so much higher than monetary.

Pam Pardy, The Herald’s Managing Editor, can be reached by emailing pghent@nfldherald.com

The Salvation Army in Conception Bay South have faithful church attendees from all over the world these days, says Major Chris Pilgrim. 

With the largest online following of any church in the province – averaging 2000+ following and watching the service at home from the church’s location in CBS every Sunday on Facebook and YouTube – Pastor Pilgrim shared it all came about because there was a need. 

‘The first lockdown’

“When we had the first lockdown, we felt the need to do something when it came to holding church services, but how could we do it when we weren’t allowed in our buildings?” he opened.  Having a “somewhat musically gifted family,” Pilgrim decided to try holding services from his living room. 

“There were five of us and we just decided that we would give it a try so we went live on a Sunday evening just with our family and from there it just took off.”

The response has been amazing, he added. 

“It’s just incredible how the audience just gravitated to the ministry that we were putting out. I guess the old traditional songs that we were singing and our style of worship people enjoyed and it brought about, I believe, some encouragement and a message of hope that people needed during some of the darkest times that they’d ever seen.”

Challenging place

 Keeping the faith, so to speak, helped cope with “the uncertainties that the pandemic brought,” he added.  

“At least they had something to look forward to on Sunday, particularly to those who were faithful church attenders for years and all of a sudden church doors are closed and they can’t attend. It put some in a very challenging place and we were able to provide a service that brought about some hope and gave folks something to look forward to every Sunday, even if it was from their homes.”

The buildings may have been closed, he added, but church services could continue. 

Online presence

Even though church has resumed, they still keep up their online presence, he added. “We have a worldwide following, or a global following. Every Sunday when we go live we have a thousand plus viewers. We’re huge on YouTube as well, with 6,000 hits each service. By the end of the week through Facebook Live we get 20,000 plus views.”

Receiving messages from all over the world is inspirational, Pilgrim added,  “It is just truly remarkable how far reaching this is. It’s brought us to a whole new era of ministry that we never, ever felt we would get to. But it’s just incredible to know of the following and the interest and the encouragement that people give us weekly and the thrill for us is that we know they have the privilege of enjoying church from the comfort and safety of home.” 

Pilgrim says he recognizes many are still struggling. Is there a message at this time of year he’d like to get out to those in need?

“Christmas has become commercialized as we all know, and I think it’s taken the joy out of what this season should be about. You know the old Christmas song that says that this is the most wonderful time of the year? I think many people would push back on that and say, ‘not a chance,’ with the commercialism and the hustle and bustle of it all it’s taken some of the joy away.” 

The message he would put forth is simple. “Get back to the basics of what this season is all about, where it all originated and that is the birth of Jesus. He came to give us hope, peace, joy and love, not just this time of the year, but throughout our lives in the midst of the chaos,” he shared.

“We can gravitate to that message to find peace, he added. Remember Matthew 1:23 which says, So all this was done that it might be fulfilled that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ Pilgrim shared. “God is with us. And we can, I think, hold fast to that message all throughout the year and hold to it through a pandemic or whatever it is that we’re going through. I guess that’s the message I wanted to bring out. That’s the truth of it for us.”  

NTV’s Sunday Service

NTV has been helping connect viewers to their faith as well, airing Sunday church services from local parishes each Sunday morning at 10:30 A.M. 

Lindsey Andrews, the General Manager at NTV/OZFM and The Newfoundland Herald, shared that the Sunday Service homepage has received over 15,226 page views since the program launched back in April 2020.

It started off with four churches in rotation, Andrews explained; Salvation Army in CBS, Bethesda Pentecostal Church on MacDonald Drive in St. John’s, St. Mark’s Anglican Church on Logy Bay Road in St. John’s and St. Peter’s Parish Roman Catholic Church in Mount Pearl.

 A number of months ago, the United Church in Cowan Heights was added to the rotation as well.

“NTV is very proud, in these pandemic times, to be able to help folks stay connected through their faith,” Andrews shared.

“It has been simply amazing to realize that so many of our viewers watch the weekly Sunday Service program. NTV genuinely appreciates the commitment of the five church denominations for providing their services for us to broadcast,” he added.

This time of year especially, when so many usually attend church services with family, having access to options is important. Spreading a message filled with peace, joy, and hope is always important, but it’s perhaps even more special and more needed at Christmas.

Blessed Christmas

Andrews says he knows the good that has come out of helping local churches spread their message of hope, because he hears regularly from appreciative viewers. It means so much, he shared, to know how much joy NTV has helped spread when it was needed the most.

Any final words, we ask. Andrews nodded. “On behalf of all of us at NTV, have a blessed Christmas season.”

Fore more visit: ntv.ca/category/programs/sunday-services/