For many, faith is an extremely important part of life and even more so in times of crisis.
A moving sermon, celebratory service, community prayers and even coming together at a church bazaar can provide inspiration and comfort when the world is filled with anxiety and uncertainty.
With the nationwide lockdown entering into its second week and places of worship closed, religious groups about the city — and the world — have been forced to find innovative ways to keep faith alive at a time when social distancing, quarantine and staying at home is the new reality.
From pre-recorded videos, social media live streams and more, some have had to befriend technology, while others have relied on discipline and daily practices.
“The lockdown has been inconvenient and challenging in many ways, but finding ways to stay connected and participate is probably even more important now that we may feel so isolated from one another,” St Michaels Anglican Church priest Ethienne Maree said.
“One way to sum up the work of the church is to say that we pray together, we care [for one another] together and we serve others together.
“All of those things keep going, whatever state or place we find ourselves in, but we’ve certainly had to find some new and creative ways to do it,” he said.
St Michael’s Anglican Church, like many others, has set up live Sunday morning services via their Facebook page as well as creating support Whatsapp groups for their congregation during the lockdown.
“I’m lucky enough to live on the premises and with a bit of help from others, we managed to set up the technology required to do a simple livestream from the church,” Maree said.
“That means I can still lead a service on a Sunday morning, and invite our members and friends to connect in so that we can keep praying and worshipping together.
“Though it’s definitely weird to speak to an almost empty church, apart from my wife who helps me and my children who run about and keep me on my toes, it’s special to be in the space that we usually gather and for those who are participating in the livestream to feel that we are still ‘together’ and connected in our worship.”
He said outreach initiatives to care for the unemployed in their neighbourhood had been put on hold due to the lockdown, but that the church was exploring ways to give support where needed.
As Pesach or Passover — one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays — approaches, the East London progressive Jewish congregation (ELPJC) is excited to also have live sermons via online platforms to rely on during these times.
Under normal circumstances the congregation, known as Bet Hillel, meets for Friday night services as well as holiday celebrations at the synagogue in Selborne, East London.
This year Pesach starts on the evening of April 8 and ends on April 16, coinciding with what is currently the final day of SA's lockdown.
“We’re a small community — there’s only about 70 of us here in East London — so we’re very grateful to have access to all our usual services via video links from the Bet David progressive congregation in Morningside in Johannesburg,” ELPJC secretary Debbie Wolk said.
“We don’t have a resident rabbi here as it just wouldn’t be financially viable, so to have access to the regular and holiday sermons performed by their resident rabbis and at zero cost to us is really amazing,” Wolk, who received a weekly schedule and e-mail links to the live streams, said.
“We send it out and people can just tune in to the live sermons.
“Pesach starts on Wednesday so it’s fantastic for us to have these platforms; it gives us a way to still feel like we’re together during this time.”
Mahmood Dhoda, trustee of the Beacon Bay Muslim Association, said the community — like other Islamic organisations — had been instructed not to congregate and instead practise daily prayers at home.
“As Muslims we have to pray every day, five times a day. The men usually go to the mosque and pray as a group while women pray individually at home,” Dhoda explained.
“During this period we are continuing with our five daily prayers, but have been encouraged to pray as a family unit in our homes, with the men leading the daily prayers,” he said.
Dhoda said the practice of Zikr, a repeated devotion or prayer, and reading the Koran were also encouraged during this time.
“It has changed things for us, but as Muslims our days are always structured about our prayers.
“Our religion is about respect, compassion and discipline,” Dhoda said.
Social media was used to keep up to date with critical information, but the discipline in continuing daily prayers and rituals helped him find calmness during these uncertain times, he said.
“During these times we find contentment in practising our faith in our homes.”
He said the association continued to assist the less fortunate by passing over funds to community leaders in specific areas for food distributions to those in need.
Provincial president of SA Council of Churches, Revered Lulama Ntshingwa, said SACC EC had partnered with the provincial government and that member churches were encouraged to find creative ways to continue their culture of pastoral care.
“The partnership between the SACC EC and the provincial government with special reference to live national SABC TV broadcaster, radio and print media has given church and communities at large trust in the voice of the SACC EC,” Ntshingwa said.
A SACC WhatsApp platform dedicated to sharing daily coronavirus information and spiritual messages in most SA languages had been established.
Other social media such as Facebook had also become popular communication tools in an effort to keep congregations in touch during this time.
“Most pastors, ministers, bishops and apostles have been very proactive in pre-recording daily morning and evening devotions, and Sunday services, which are circulated through WhatsApp to cell groups, homes and general worshippers,” Ntshingwa said.
Playing a vital role in ensuring communities are well informed of the lockdown regulations, the provincial SACC Covid-19 team was also an information centre for many, Ntshingwa said.
Connected via WhatsApp, regional co-ordinators in the two metros and six district municipalities across the province were in constant contact with government agencies such as the provincial joint disaster management forum, he said.
“The most structured way of keeping members’ churches and communities abreast of what is going on is the regional Covid-19 co-ordinators on community district radios at least twice a week.
“Our Covid-19 centre receives numerous inquiries pertaining to the interpretation of some changing government directives and regulations, especially about funerals, taxis and social grants payouts,” Ntshingwa explained.
He said the SACC toll-free number (0800 111 114) had also been reactivated for people to report any problems regarding the lockdown, such as gender-based violence, abuse of power by security forces and inflated prices of goods.
The SACC also have a dedicated website (www.coronachurch.org.za) offering information on Covid-19, daily prayers and inspiration.
“Various denominations have online services especially as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter services.
“We continue to encourage member churches to pray and preach at home during this lockdown,” Rev Ntshingwa said.
Ministry co-ordinator at Stirling Baptist Church, Kerri Smith, said churches often stated — and rightfully so -that they were not just buildings, but a body of people.
“We don’t invite people to a programme but to a relationship with Jesus — and now is our time to prove that.
“With our buildings and programmes stripped away, we have to find other ways to continue to foster relationships and point people to Christ,” Smith said.
“Most of our job descriptions have become flexible, but our mission remains the same.”
Smith has had to become a communications director overnight and her husband, Dane Smith, has had to turn from worship minister to video editor.
Stirling Baptist Church in Nahoon has also made a number of resources available online — from Sunday services to midweek chats and text groups.
“We have opted to conduct our Sunday services via our Facebook page.
“We pre-record announcements, an encouragement from one of our elders and a message, and compile it into one package that goes live at 9am.
“We invite people to join us from 8.45am for a live chat to continue to foster a sense of community,” Smith said.
This church has also started video call bible study sessions, WhatsApp groups, children’s activity videos and more.
“Our regular midweek bible studies have taken on a new format — instead of multiple families gathering in one home, groups are meeting via the Zoom app.
“They continue to pray, worship and reflect on the Sunday message from the comfort of their own homes while enjoying a social connection provided by technology.
“Our teens also have a midweek Zoom small group meeting. For children under grade 6 we are sending our adapted curriculum to parents weekly, so they can work through it with their children.
“It includes a teaching video, some discussion questions and a simple activity or game,” she said.
Outreach programmes had been the hardest to keep going, Smith said.
“Without events or programmes to call our people to we have tried to empower them with information and make them aware of the different causes they can support in our city.
“One simple way we encouraged them to serve their neighbours, before lockdown, was to put little cards in the postboxes of their street offering to do grocery shopping or emergency errands for neighbours in need during lockdown,” Smith explained.