26.07.2021
‘We have to make young people feel seen, even online’ – EBW Youth Panel
“It was easier to send young people a Zoom link rather than pick up the phone and ring them during the pandemic.” These are the words of one of the panelists on the first ever youth panel during Ecumenical Bible Week. Under the theme of ‘The Once and Future Church’ third level chaplains and young people reflected on their faith and how they engaged with it when churches were not open for public worship.
Some young people, as we might expect given that they are ‘digital natives’ and have grown up with the internet, were happy with their online church experience. However, others found it difficult to engage online and missed the connection with others that comes from being in a physical space together.
The panel consisted of three third level chaplains – Scott Evans (UCD), Eric Hughes (DCU) and Sr Bernadette Purcell (TU Dublin) – and three young people – Dave Donnelly who is studying applied theology, Alvina Jacob of St Thomas’ Indian Orthodox Church in Dublin and Amy Costello a student and parishioner in Springfield Parish, Tallaght.
Eric Hughes began his work in chaplaincy in November 2020 when there were no students and no staff. He spoke of the struggle to connect with people without being face to face and learning to cultivate real connections in the digital space. Scott Evans added that chaplaincy is a ministry of presence, of loitering with intent. “But loitering has become dangerous so if not this, then what? How do we be faithful in the new reality and what are our values?” he asked. Sr Bernadette Purcell added that when the pandemic struck everyone was in a spin. “When I paused I thought: This is a huge liminal space. Now new expressions are coming alive,” she said.
Dave Donnelly, who was social media coordinator in his church in Rathmines said they were looking at bridging the gap so that they could remain a community while people were at home. He agreed that this is a liminal space but people hadn’t really committed to it. “The difficulty for students is when you try to do education, social and church all online, it stops feeling fun. You can’t separate those boundaries. You can’t engage in all the online events and there is guilt around that,” he commented.
He added that his faith wasn’t nurtured in the way he thought it would be. “I was the person who streamed the service and to do my job I had to tune out which meant that church wasn’t a place to develop spiritually. A number of other young people I spoke to also tried online church but it didn’t feel personal because being in church is being known and recognised,” he explained adding: “People got away with lazier communication. It was easier to send a young person a Zoom link than to ring them on the phone. We have to go out of our way to make young people feel seen even in the digital community.”
Both Amy Costello and Alvina Jacob reported different experiences. Amy said she was able to connect online and enjoyed a parish WhatsApp with a daily reflection. Alvina added that she attended Masses over Zoom and enjoyed podcasts from her church featuring messages from people in the church which helped nurture her faith. Looking to the future Amy said it was important to make young people aware of their gifts and ask them to lend their gifts to the Church. Alvina said she was happy with the Church the way it is although she questioned how willing churches were to accept LGBT+ people.