THE FAMILY - CHURCH IN SMALL AND ITS CHALLENGES IN THE GRIP OF THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC

Abstract

At the time of the COVID-19 epidemic, when churches were literally closed overnight and religious classrooms emptied, the role of the family, as the basic cell of the Church came to the fore again and was called to carry out during the epidemic a threefold mission: in the field of the liturgy, preaching and Diakonia.

In the field of liturgy, mass broadcasts were welcome in the media, but most of them did not address families with children. Because families did not want to attend worship services only as “silent spectators”, they were forced to seek additional materials to keep the “little fellowship” in touch with God in their own way.

In the field of preaching, the challenge was how to catechize children. Parents were expected to catechize their children themselves, and many could not cope with this task. Although the Slovenian Catechetical Office prepared the material, it did not reach all parents for various reasons. Priests and catechists acknowledged their helplessness and expressed a desire for a renewed catechesis and pastoral care that will evangelize in the languages of modern multimedia both children and adults.

In the field of diakonia, the family was put to the test of how to live love of neighbour not only in words but especially in deeds. Many municipalities and parishes organized various forms of charitable activity, which enabled the family to keep the parish and family Church alive to the best of its ability.