Returning from exile? Reconciliation within the church after COVID-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper outlines the need for theological reflection on reconciliation within faith communities as returning Christians rejoin their churches following pandemic closures. Where there has been a suspension of gathered worship, there is an interruption of shared experience within the church congregation. Van der Borght (2008. “The Church as the Community of the Shared Story.” Journal of Reformed Theology 2 (1): 5–16.) has described church as ‘the community of the shared story’, and the warp and weft of these shared stories have been interrupted by lockdowns in the Church across the world. The move to electronic worship left some worshippers feeling doubly excluded. Those returning to worship are at new and differing points in their journey of faith as their local, gathered church resumes after one or more periods of lockdown. Given the prevalence of church closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, this interruption of shared experience is likely to have widespread pastoral consequences. This paper suggests that reconciliation is the appropriate, theological response.