What might we see and hear if we asked worshippers about what they experience? It isn’t always what theologians expect. For the past few decades, many Catholic liturgical theologians and others have expressed concern about the return of a ritual practice that they worried signaled a regression from the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.…
Where does one go to find God? Quite commonly, a place of worship. Even people who aren’t sure if God exists seek divine help in churches and mosques and cathedrals because such religious buildings are understood as sacred spaces. If God does exist, surely God will be found in these holy places.
This understanding of sacred space poses a problem in a global pandemic, however. Where does one go to find God when those religious buildings are closed? And beyond the pandemic, it challenges communities of faith to think in new ways.
Worship is a central activity of congregations everywhere, but what has happened during these months when gathering hasn’t been possible? A survey conducted during the first two months of the outbreak in North America showed that pastors’ top priority was to find a way to continue their weekend worship services in the midst of the…
During these long days of physical isolation, long walks around my community of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, have been a welcome respite. Those walks have also inevitably stirred my historical curiosity about this town first settled by Europeans in the 17th century. I realized that I had a question: There was something missing from our religious…
Why belong? That’s what lots of people are asking themselves these days. And it’s what people interested in the wellbeing of religious communities should be asking, as well. Why do people find this place compelling? What makes it worth investing time and energy? As Easter and Passover approach, newspapers are doing their annual nod in…