In times of crisis, religious organisations—especially the church—offer opportunities for interpersonal relations to enhance coping through pastoral encounters.
The coronavirus can spread easily through the common means used by the church and other faith-based communities.
The church is now forced to seek other methods to continue doing pastoral ministry without congregating with its members in face-to-face meetings.
Church leaders had to think on our feet and accept the reality that there will be some losses but we needed to keep the faith through these troubling and distressing times.
The life of the church and other religious organisations have been so negatively-impacted to a point of failing to do pastoral ministry traditionally.