El 10 de marzo de 2020, cerramos las puertas de la catedral aquí en Waterford, pedimos que los Amigos de la Catedral se quedaran en casa, cancelamos la práctica del coro y un fin de semana planeado para un grupo de jóvenes, sin saber lo que nos esperaba.
<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="/es/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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Una verdadera víctima de la pandemia ha sido la vida comunitaria; simplemente encontrándonos, en la iglesia, tocando las campanas, en la escuela dominical, en el coro, en la sacristía, en los eventos parroquiales, visitándonos unos a otros. . . la lista continua.
<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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Aunque las llamadas telefónicas no son un medio ideal de comunicación, han permitido conversaciones reales con muchas personas que de otro modo habrían estado en el trabajo o demasiado ocupadas.
A lo largo del año, las conexiones con la diócesis y la iglesia más grande han sido artificiosas y artificiales, teniendo los sínodos y reuniones habituales por Zoom; la superestructura de obispos y administración, en el mejor de los casos distante en la vida de la mayoría de los feligreses, ahora es completamente redundante. El clero debe ser local, visible, en contacto y comprometido. . . o volverse irrelevante.
<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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En el pasado, prevalecía la no conversación: las mujeres y las minorías se sentaban y escuchaban, los niños y jóvenes eran irrelevantes, las finanzas y el tejido de la iglesia tenían prioridad.
Para algunos, los funerales más pequeños han sido extraños pero más íntimos. Las tremendas multitudes del pasado ofrecían un valioso respeto por los muertos y los despojados, pero eran igualmente desafiantes para los afligidos cuando se encontraban en su punto más vulnerable.
<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>
