Church's response to Covid - 'experience, remember, find ways forward'

An article in the academic journal Practical Theology gives pointers to how the church and people are responding pastorally to Covid-19. In 'Towards a theology of Covid: providence and lament in past, present, and future trauma narratives', the Revd Dr Melanie Harrington has compared past responses to plague and wars to our reactions to the current health crisis in order to understand better a faith perspective on the pandemic.

Providence and lament are highlighted as key themes for comparison. A theology of Covid also suggests including 'language which embraces a need for positive change in the light of the inequalities exposed by the pandemic, while at the same time engaging with sorrow, grief, and loss.'

Click here to read the article, though you will need an account to access it.

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Revd Dr Melanie Harrington is a priest and third-year curate in the Diocese of Lichfield. Before being ordained she completed her PhD in early modern history at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and was a published historian. She now wishes to bring her historical background to bear on her work as a theologian. She is particularly interested in the theology of reconciliation and pastoral responses to trauma.