“But you, child of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness”
1 Timothy 6:11
Faith grows during the lockdown
There are increasing reports of a greater degree of openness to God, to prayer, and to discussions about faith. A few days ago, I was on a Zoom conversation with Christians leaders from the UK, Frankfurt, Budapest and Athens. A consistent theme was their experience of a willingness of people to talk about questions of faith. That openness has been growing for some time, but it has been accelerated by two current factors.
First, people have the time to talk in ways that they have not had when busy at work. Second, people have a new appreciation of the wonders of the natural world as they walk in open spaces.
The question is whether we have the time, the courage and the inclination to look for those conversations as we take our daily exercise. In the resources section this week we highlight some research that has come from TEAR Fund to confirm the new openness we are experiencing.
Resources
Mission Opportunities after lockdown – part 2
Last week I commented on the idea that we are not likely to go back to the “old normal”. It’s much more possible that there will be a “new normal”. So how can we take advantage of the new opportunities that this unprecedented situation has produced. Here are three actions we can consider in the new normal.
First, honouring those who have died. Might it be possible for your church to honour all those in your community and neighbourhood who have died during the lockdown and for whom it has not been possible to hold the normal celebration of their lives? Could you plan some kind of public event, maybe even an outdoor event to signal the significance of that kind of loss?
Second, claiming back the secular world. Originally the word “secular” was a Christian word that simply meant the things that end with this life as compared with the “sacred” things that continue into eternity. God is lord of all – both secular and sacred. Could we perhaps plan events that give thanks for the open spaces that have been so precious to us during the lockdown?
Third, as the TEAR Find research suggests, people are more open to talking about spiritual issues than previously. Can we encourage all our members to have such conversations while we have time and while the openness is still available?
TEAR Fund Research on faith in the UK during the lockdown
- Nearly half of adults in the UK (44%) say they pray
- A quarter (24%) of UK adults say they have watched or listened to a religious service since lockdown
- Over half of those who pray (56%) agree that prayer changes the world
Prayer is a vital part of life for the public, with just under half of UK adults (44%) saying they pray, and among those who pray a third (33%) say that they have prayed since the COVID-19 lockdown because they believe it makes a difference, according to a new nationwide poll of 2,101 UK adults by Savanta ComRes for Christian relief & development agency Tearfund.
With churches being closed due to restrictions on social gatherings, thousands of churches are streaming their services online. A quarter (24%) of UK adults say they have watched or listened to a religious service since lockdown (on the radio, live on TV, on demand or streamed online), this jumps to three quarters (76%) amongst regular churchgoers. One in twenty UK adults (5%) who say they have watched or listened to a religious service since lockdown have never gone to church.
A third (34%) of UK adults aged 18-34 say they have watched or listened to a religious service since lockdown (on the radio, live on TV, on demand or streamed online) this compares to one in five (19%) adults aged 55+.
While some may view religion as more appealing to the older generation, the research shows that younger adults aged 18-34 are significantly more likely to say they pray regularly (at least once a month) than adults aged 55 and over (30% vs. 25%).
When it comes to popular topics of prayer among those who say they pray, over half (53%) say they’ve prayed about family members, a quarter (27%) have prayed for frontline services and one in five (20%) say they have prayed for someone who is unwell with COVID-19. Just over a sixth of those who pray (15%) say they have prayed for other countries with COVID-19, highlighting the challenge for Tearfund to encourage more people to pray for global issues.
The new findings on prayer reveal a strong belief in the power of prayer to bring about positive change in the world. Among those who pray, two thirds (66%) say they agree that God hears their prayers and over half (56%) say they agree that prayer changes the world. Half of those who pray (51%) agree that they’ve witnessed answers to their own prayers and over two fifths (43%) agree that their prayer changes the lives of people living in poverty in developing countries.
Other findings from poll include:
- A quarter of UK adults (26%) say they pray regularly (at least once a month).
- One in twenty (5%) of UK adults say they have started praying during the lockdown, but they didn’t pray before.
- Among those who pray, nearly half (45%) say that they prayed since the lockdown because they believe in God, a third believe that prayer makes a difference (33%), a quarter (26%) say that they prayed in times of personal crisis or tragedy and a quarter (24%) say they have prayed to gain comfort or to feel less lonely.
- A quarter (25%) of those aged 18-24 who pray say that since the COVID-19 lockdown they have prayed about the UK government’s response to COVID-19, this exceeds all other age groups (15% for those aged 25-64 and 23% for those aged 65+).
- Men are significantly more likely than women say they have watched or listened to a religious service since lockdown (on the radio, live on TV, on demand or streamed online) (28% vs. 21% respectively).
- Since lockdown, one in five (18%) of UK adults have asked someone else to say a prayer and one in five (19%) UK adults say they have read a religious text during lockdown.
- Top five things to pray about during lockdown among UK adults who pray are: family (53%), friends (34%), thanking God (34%), yourself (28%) and the frontline services (27%).
News
Those we have lost
One of the difficulties of this last period is that we have lost loved ones during the lockdown and it has not been possible to hold the kind of funerals and events that would appropriately celebrate the lives of our loved ones as normal. We would like to find a way to honour those that have been lost during this time, either because of the Covid-19 virus or from other causes. We are not sure yet what form that honouring might take, almost certainly it will be a public event, possibly as part of one of our national conferences. We are trying to identify the names of those who have died during this time. If your church has lost someone who would normally have had a funeral at your church, please let us know so that we can include that person in some kind of memorial event. (email: lynda.robinson@fcc-cio.com).
New Structures
As from the previous Connect Conference when we voted to adopt a new structure, we are beginning to operate in a new way. One of the new pieces in the structure is the Strategic Board which helps to direct our key strategies. The Strategic Board appoints the National Moderator and the National Secretary. The Chair of the Strategic Board is Revd Dr Iain MacRobert. The other members are Revd Dr Leonard Lupiya, Marion Kenyon, Roy Baylis, Hirpo Kumbi, Catherine White and Rehoboth Beyene.
Iain MacRobert
Connect Conference
Although it is a long way off, we have booked the annual delegates conference for Saturday 13th February 2021. It would be great if you could put the date in your diary now. Thanks so much.
Until next week…Martin Robinson