A little Bethel and the pledge of God’s presence: worship in the household during and after the pandemic

Abstract

The COVID pandemic prompted most parishes to provide resources for worship in the household: service programs, websites with the Daily Office, pre-recorded worship, and live-streamed liturgies. Thus, the pandemic has drawn attention to household worship, a long-standing practice among Christians but one that has been frequently overlooked in seminary education and pastoral practice. This essay considers the sources alive in Anglican and Episcopal communities that support such practices and also considers the unfortunate tendency to create a learned dependency on religious professionals and the need to foster practices that cultivate Christian identity in the household.