In those parishes that have actively sought new ventures and parishioners, the Church of England is prospering. In Rural Ainsty, a country parish in North Yorkshire, the Reverend Richard Battersby says, \u2018We have a thriving Sunday morning worship \u2013 as many and more as before lockdown. I pray with more parishioners in the morning and evening than ever before.\u2019<\/p>\n
Where, previously, he took separate services in four villages, they now worship together online, with Zoom services unifying the different churches. \u2018They\u2019d never worshipped together before,\u2019 says Battersby. \u2018Faith has been made more intense by the pandemic. People on their laptops can actually contribute to the service. Someone from the Congo recently contributed.\u2019<\/p>\n
He\u2019s had to deal, too, with coronavirus funerals. \u2018We\u2019ve had to come up with ways that families could mourn in the right way. After the first lockdown, we could have a service for those interring ashes, who couldn\u2019t attend a proper funeral during lockdown.\u2019<\/p>\n
In Battersby\u2019s parish, the congregation\u2019s contributions have even gone up. He talks about the Church being \u2018shocked into new ways of being\u2019 by the pandemic. \u2018Churches that explored an online presence have done pretty well and have seen exponential growth,\u2019 he says. \u2018Churches that were struggling before have seen an accelerated demise. The willingness of the church leader to adopt new technology from a theological or sacramental point is crucial.\u2019<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Can the Church of England survive Covid?<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019re deemed non-essential, but that isn\u2019t the case: we\u2019ve served 160,000 meals during the pandemic, compared to 5,000 in the equivalent period before,\u2019 https:\/\/t.co\/X3pr9t8VCj<\/a><\/p>\n — Tim Dieppe (@TDieppe) January 9, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n