Changes at the Heart: Adapting Eucharist in the Time of Pandemic

Authors

Marjorie M. Snipes, University of West Georgia

Abstract

During the initial COVID-19 pandemic period of 2020-2021, social institutions worldwide faced stress in adapting to immediate needs, among them places of worship which faced challenges from the disruption of social gatherings, religious services, tithing, and the celebration of key rituals. While many churches suspended or postponed rituals such as weddings, funerals, and baptisms, the practice of Eucharist presented a unique challenge. This ethnographic research focuses on mainline Christian churches in a semi-urban town in the state of Georgia (U.S.). It examines the ways that the experience of shutdown and social isolation affected the practice of Eucharist in Catholic, Baptist, Episcopalian, and non-denominational churches. Those religious institutions able to reinstate Eucharist more quickly and in a format that remained familiar to its members, faced fewer kinds of identity crisis.

Relational Format

Journal article

Accessibility Status

Searchable text

Recommended Citation

Snipes, Marjorie M. (2024) "Changes at the Heart: Adapting Eucharist in the Time of Pandemic," Proceedings of the annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society: Vol. 48: No. 1, Article 5.
DOI: 10.56702/MPMC7908/saspro4801.5
Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/southernanthro_proceedings/vol48/iss1/5