By Alison Pope
Associate Director, Office of Evangelization and Catechesis
There is no doubt that 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic have forced us to find new ways to engage in ministry. It has brought about challenges, but it has also provided some wonderful opportunities to be creative in how we carry out our ministry.
Yet, many are eager to return to the way we ministered before COVID-19. They have seen this time simply as a time of disruption and inconvenience. While I am not one to use the term “new normal,” I do believe that we will never return to ministry as we knew it before. That is not a bad thing.
What if we looked at this time differently? Not simply as a time of disruption, but an invitation to shift perspective. Rather than asking “When can we go back to the way it was?” I believe we should be asking “How can we use this to be innovative?” This has provided the opportunity to take inventory, assess, imagine, create, and experiment. It has allowed us time to truly evaluate our ministries and be honest about what was and was not working. It has allowed us the space we may not have had before to try new things.
Our ministry should be one that is relational. That is even more true during this time of unknown and uncertainty. We can still talk, share, and listen. However, it may mean engaging in those relationships in new ways, outside of the church walls. Despite the limitations of safety precautions, we can still help people listen for the still, small voice of God himself, who comes to us in the quiet and softens our hearts as we hurt.
We can look at the story of the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) to show us what to focus on as we shift perspectives in our ministries. First, we see that Jesus asked questions, and then had the patience to listen to the answers. As Jesus began walking with the two disciples, he simply asked them questions. He wanted to know their thoughts. When Jesus asked a question, he listened to what they had to say. He did not immediately jump in to give the answer he wanted them to give. Rather, he simply listened and asked more questions.
We can do the same by letting people process, tell us how they feel, and express their confusion, anger, doubt, and worries without fear of immediate judgment or correction. When we are asking questions of those we minister to and with, do we allow them to share their thoughts without our immediate interruption to explain or justify our own thoughts or actions? We must learn to listen simply for the sake of listening, rather than listening to respond.
Jesus gave the two disciples space to gather their thoughts and go, even in the wrong direction. While their understanding of all that had happened around Jesus’ death and resurrection was not entirely accurate at the time, Jesus did not immediately tell them they were wrong. Rather, he allowed them to process their thoughts and feelings in a safe place before attempting to point them in the right direction.
When people come to us with doubts and confusion, do we allow them to process their thoughts and feelings, or do we immediately try to correct them and explain why they shouldn’t feel or think that way? People’s feelings are valid, even if we do not feel the same way. We must learn to validate their experiences before trying to teach them.
Only after listening and allowing the two disciples to process their thoughts and feelings did Jesus begin to teach and unpack the present moment. Jesus is able to teach with a measure of force because he earned a measure of trust by listening.
Relational ministry is dependent on trust. We must first show that we are trustworthy before those we minister to and with will truly allow us to walk with them on their faith journey. If we try to teach with force before earning their trust, we will only succeed in broadening the separation between us and them.
Like Jesus with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, our approach in ministry, especially post-pandemic, must be more personal and intentional. We must ask questions like “What do our people need from us right now?” and “What resources do they need?” and then truly listen to their answers. We must then use those answers to help us discover what needs adjusting so that we can hear and respond to their actual needs, rather than what we perceive as their needs.
We cannot default back to yesterday’s answers that no longer fit today’s questions. Many ministries have been operating from the mindset of “We’ve always done it this way.” What worked even just five years ago typically does not work today. Not only have society and technology changed, but the people in our communities and their needs have changed. The pandemic allows us to change what we do and how we do it so that we can better minister to the needs our people have today.
This time also allows us to shift what we measure. So often, we have measured the success of a ministry on attendance and numbers. While I would argue that even pre-pandemic, that was not the best measure, that is even more true now. Rather than basing our definition of success on numbers and regular attendance, perhaps we can measure based on connection and growth. Are our people truly connected to the faith community? Can we see evidence of their personal and spiritual growth? We usually operate from the mindset that bigger is better, yet this time of pandemic is allowing us the opportunity to adopt a new mindset.
We must connect with the members of our community. While finding those points of connection, we must also keep in mind that not all connection will take place through technology. If we rely simply on social media or Zoom gatherings for connection, we are missing those members of our communities who cannot or do not have Internet access or adequate technology.
Just like pre-pandemic, how to best engage in a new model of ministry will look different for each faith community. We must continue to avoid the temptation to compare numbers or adopt what works for somebody else. Rather, we must truly look at those who make up our community and what their needs are, regardless of what other parishes are doing.
In Christus Vivit, Pope Francis says, “It does us no good ‘to sit down and long for times past; we must meet our culture with realism and love and fill it with the Gospel’” (no. 200). This is true for our ministries today. We cannot wait for the world and ministry to return to how it was a year ago. We must look at the reality we are living in now and imagine new ways of loving and filling our world with the Gospel. Let us begin to love others by listening to them and journeying with them in ways that meet their needs, regardless of how that fits into our preferred model of ministry.