Am 10. März 2020 schlossen wir die Türen der Kathedrale hier in Waterford, baten die Freunde der Kathedrale, zu Hause zu bleiben, sagten Chorproben und ein geplantes Jugendgruppenwochenende ab, ohne zu wissen, was vor uns lag.
<p class="no_name">On March 15th, 2020, we broadcast our first Sunday service from the cathedral and have done so since.</p>
<p class="no_name">The first lockdown was horrendous, as much-loved parishioners died in quick succession, firstly with 100 present at their funerals, then 10 at the funeral of a young mother of four. <a href="/de/news">Ireland</a> “does death well” and the gathering of the community is a hugely important element in the grieving process. However, not only are the bereft denied the community recognition due to their loved one, the community has no means of grieving its cherished members. And yet we have all now adapted to online funerals on rip.ie.</p>
<p class="no_name">Usually Baptisms happened during the Sunday service but now they occur privately. Confirmations have been cancelled because preparation would not be safe or feasible, as this is done at parish, not school, level.</p>
<p class="no_name">There have been three weddings. The first, tragically, in Waterford University Hospital when a terminally ill man married his partner of many years just days before his death. The second had 25 present and the third was during this latest lockdown, allowing only six people to be present.</p>
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Ein echtes Opfer der Pandemie war das Gemeinschaftsleben; sich einfach treffen, in der Kirche, beim Glockengeläut, in der Sonntagsschule, im Chor, in der Sakristei, bei Gemeindeveranstaltungen, beieinander vorbeischauen . . . Die Liste geht weiter.
<p class="no_name">In future, older parishioners will be wary of coming back to church. Given that you can now turn off the preacher if he/she is waffling online and “church hop” on the internet from bed, the habit of faith community may have been broken for good, not just for the “occasionals” but also the “regulars”.</p>
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Auch wenn Telefonate kein ideales Kommunikationsmittel sind, haben sie echte Gespräche mit vielen ermöglicht, die sonst bei der Arbeit oder zu beschäftigt gewesen wären
Im Laufe des Jahres wurden Verbindungen mit der Diözese und größeren Kirchen erfunden und künstlich, mit den üblichen Synoden und Treffen von Zoom; Der Überbau von Bischöfen und Verwaltung, der im Leben der meisten Gemeindemitglieder bestenfalls entfernt war, ist jetzt völlig überflüssig. Der Klerus muss vor Ort, sichtbar, in Kontakt und engagiert sein . . . oder irrelevant werden.
<p class="no_name">To date, thankfully, parishioners’ donations in the Waterford parishes have held up but the income we make in the cathedral from the shop and concerts has simply ended and this pays the huge costs of running, insuring, staffing, heating and maintaining a cathedral. Luckily, we went into the pandemic debt free with the belfry and roof renovated recently but there are huge financial challenges ahead.</p>
<p class="no_name">Despite all this, there have been some really important changes for the good. Even though telephone calls are not an ideal means of communication, they have enabled real conversations with many who otherwise would have been at work or too busy. I have got to know some members of the community better because of lockdowns.</p>
<p class="no_name">People were rather reticent about talking about their faith but I have been blown away with their engagement in a venture that started on October 22nd last, Prayer at Breakfast, which lasts six to eight minutes each day. Now we have just passed the 100th day of this and between 130-160 tune in daily. If I went to the cathedral and did morning prayer there every day, I would be lucky to have three people with me.</p>
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Früher herrschte Schweigen: Frauen und Minderheiten saßen und hörten zu, Kinder und Jugendliche waren irrelevant, Finanzen und Kirchengefüge hatten Vorrang
Für einige waren kleinere Beerdigungen seltsam, aber intimer. Die gewaltigen Menschenmassen der Vergangenheit boten den Toten und Hinterbliebenen geschätzten Respekt, waren aber ebenso eine Herausforderung für die Trauernden, wenn sie am verletzlichsten waren.
<p class="no_name">If the pandemic changes the way we do weddings, that will be a good thing. People know they do not have to remortgage their lives now to wed; things have become simpler and more genuine.</p>
<p class="no_name">Religion has big challenges ahead, over and above financial ones. There are parishes where the bond between priest and people has deepened over the last year and others where it has vaporised.</p>
<p class="no_name">Relying on the ways things were done in the past will not be adequate. People have recovered their faith and need for God and if that is not the foundation of what we do going forward, then forget it.</p>
<p class="no_name">Religion for religion’s sake is gone and that is not a bad thing.</p>
<p class="no_name">We will have to meet as people of faith with a renewed authenticity and open a real conversation about rebuilding church. In the past, non-talk prevailed: women and minorities sat and listened, children and young people were irrelevant, finance and church fabric took precedence over energising community and faith. The challenge and the opportunity will be in developing authentic Christian community again.</p>
<p class="no_name">Leadership has not come and will not come from a moribund clerical caste; it will come from the people who want community, who reclaim their voice, who know the connection between faith and real life, who have found the spiritual strength in the pandemic to prevail and who now must step up to the bar and start rebuilding. Exciting times ahead.</p>
