Church Pulse has a recent podcast that talks about some of the statistics that can be gathered from the effects of the coronavirus, for example attendance at Mass has gone up, but giving has gone down.
Wile this research covers the US, many churches who were surveyed are still positive about their futures and are expecting to retain their staff as they have had pre-lockdown. Bear in mind, it is very common to have several employed staff in each parish, which is much less common in the UK.
The survey is also picking up some of the complicated issues as churches consider reopening their churches for services.
Mark Sayers is their guest speaker in this podcast, and he starts by explaining that the church is having to consider how it continues to lead with spiritual authority when it’s normal platform has been taken away.
Some really interesting outcomes are the people who have starting to attend Mass during the lockdown who may not come to church when services restart, but have valued the live streamed Mass.
The discussion then focusses on other thoughts and concerns that have been raised during the pandemic by churches. These are interesting discussions and some indications of future trends.