Exploring the pastoral needs of pastoral caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case of the ELCSA-SED uMngeni circuit.

Abstract

This study explores the pastoral needs of pastoral caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) South Eastern Diocese (SED) uMngeni Circuit, using a sample of ten stipendiary pastors from different parishes of the Circuit. This sample is representative of all parishes that make up the Circuit. The findings of this study suggest that the church should be the first point where pastors get assistance or guidance. Schuster (1996:9) states that “pastoral care is understood historically to embrace the helping acts performed by representative Christians as they facilitate the healing, sustaining, guiding, and reconciling of troubled individuals, people whose difficulties occur within the context of ultimate meanings and concerns.” The task of pastoral care involves assisting people to develop, grow, and mature spiritually despite the difficulties of life (Peterson 1997:22), by helping them connect with God and the worshiping community. In other words, pastoral care is often seen as “the attempt to help others, through words, acts, and relationships, to experience as fully as possible the reality of God’s presence and love in their lives” (Holst 2006:46). Martin Luther, the reformer, believed that God is utterly sovereign over all things, including the suffering of various kinds (Luther, 1525). God is even sovereign over the Devil, whose diabolical plots in the world the Wittenberg reformer took quite seriously. Luther was very honest about the reality of suffering in the world, along with the pain and despair that it causes. There is nothing Pollyannaish about his theology. The term "vaccine hesitancy" describes a delay in or outright rejection of a vaccine despite the presence of immunization services. It is intricate and frequently contextspecific, varying over time, space, and vaccine types, and it can be influenced by things like complacency, convenience, a fear of needles, or a lack of knowledge about how vaccinations function. The COVID-19 pandemic affected all segments of the population, particularly members of the vulnerable social groups. A pandemic that spreads through human interaction is a crisis for the Church as it kills the oneness and solidarity of the Church, which is its source of coping. Christians always gather to break bread, drink from the same cup and care for the poor. Participants’ findings affirmed that what they experience in the church about vaccine hesitancy requires special attention and they believe that the pastors should play an enormous role in helping them. Lack of communication and non-visibility of practitioners causes problems that lead to continuing trauma and fake news.