Click here to listen to my ‘Thought for the Day’ on BBC Radio Ulster
This one is especially for all the John Wesley fans out there, and those who have been adjusting to ‘religion online’ during the Covid-19 pandemic (click here to read the results of my survey of faith leaders during the pandemic, published by the Irish Council of Churches.)
The text of today’s contribution is below.
The Worldwide Web is their Parish
When John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was criticized for travelling all over England to preach in the open air, his reply was defiant: ‘All the world is my parish.’
Wesley’s detractors condemned open air preaching as an outrageous breach of tradition and decorum. For them, Christianity was best practised safely inside the walls of a church. But Wesley took his message of salvation to the damp, muddy fields, enthralling the thousands who flocked to hear him.
Wesley was convinced that the Church of England, in which he was a minister, was failing to reach those who needed the gospel: the destitute, the hard labourers, those who were exploited as workers in England’s burgeoning industrial revolution. Saving those souls required new methods.
Innovators like Wesley have reformed Christianity over the centuries, crafting messages and methods that connect with people searching for meaning, often in the midst of political upheavals and massive societal changes.
In March, the abrupt closure of our churches forced faith leaders across our island into Wesley’s position. With no option of safely practising Christianity inside the walls of churches, faith communities moved online.
Now almost all churches are connecting through livestreaming, Facebook, Zoom prayer meetings, and more. The number of people accessing services online far exceeds the people in the pews on a pre-pandemic Sunday morning. Atheists and lapsed Christians have been in touch and asked for prayers. There have even been virtual pilgrimages and novenas.
Most churches plan to keep aspects of their online ministries, even as churches re-open. Like Wesley going to the fields, they have found new audiences. The worldwide web is their parish, and Irish Christianity will never be the same.