Transforming Lord’s Supper: Indonesian Protestant Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Abstract By focusing on the issue of the Lord’s Supper, this article explores the contextual theological responses of three Protestant churches in the eastern part of Indonesia towards the Covid-19 pandemic. The article argues that discourses on the Lord’s Supper in response to the pandemic reflected the mission theology of these communities in terms of their beliefs (doctrine) and practices (rites, structures, order, community). Through online interviews and document analysis, the researcher discovered that churches made significant contextual transformations during the first period of the pandemic. The pandemic challenged these churches to make significant theological responses to fulfill their mission. They changed traditional rituals to adapt to distancing guidelines. In contrast to the belief in the importance of church buildings, the homes of church members were transformed into church-centers. Solidarity among congregational members was stronger than before the pandemic, with ways for members to contact and support each other from home.