Church leaders disheartened by just not being there for the sick and dying

When times are hard, many turn to religion. But religious leaders in SA say a great sorrow during the pandemic is not being able to administer last rites or console the sick and dying.

“Staying away from the sick and bereaved at a time when they need spiritual counselling and support has been an emotional and painful experience,” said moulana Ebrahim Bham, secretary general of the Jamiatul Ulama (Council of Muslim Theologians in SA).

“We have tried to use appropriate means to reach out to hospitals, homes and care facilities. Such means, however, have been limited in scope and experience. There is a human element in final rites and related traditions that cannot be substituted by a telephonic or video call.”

Father Phuti Makgabo, of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, said adjusting had been difficult.

In May the strict lockdown regulations hit home for Makgabo. His father fell ill and Makgobo was unable to travel home to Limpopo to help care for him. He was allowed to travel only two months later, after his father had died.

“I could not give him the anointing of the sick [a special prayer for sick people]. It was painful because I couldn’t be there for him in his time of need.”

Makgabo said the prayer, accompanied by a priest anointing a sick person’s forehead with oil, was important to congregants.

It was also difficult when pastors were not able to enter hospitals and pray for their church members, he added.

He said consoling a sick person can help to alleviate the pain.

“It is a great consolation to people to know that they have received the special prayer in their sickness. We didn’t think so many people would be dying. With the deaths coming so fast, you feel that you have no more words of consolation.

“With the [restrictions] it becomes very difficult for us to say goodbye to the people who are so dear to us. Death is more real now than people thought. Now we realise the importance of prayer.”

Warren Goldstein, chief rabbi of the Union of Orthodox Synagogues, said it was hard for rabbis not to be there for a member of a congregation about to leave this world, “to give them spiritual comfort and direction”.

“It has been about helping people cope with a deep sense of loss. Everyone is struggling with loss and they are turning to their rabbis to help deal with loss, and the rabbis themselves have their own challenges,” Goldstein said.

“Every kind of human need has come to the fore during this pandemic. The whole social dimension of going to synagogues was lost and the concept of community is lost, and it is traumatic for the congregants and also difficult for the rabbis.”

Anglican archbishop Thabo Makgoba said pastoral care and church programmes helping those with HIV and feeding schemes had been hit hard by the pandemic.

“People in rural areas are using Facebook Live and other social media platforms to spread the word and create support groups,” Makgoba said.

But as much as it has helped, he said technology would never replace “face to face”.

“I have spent a lot of time on my knees praying and I have relooked at the notion of hope and how one can make hope in action. I have looked at how we can talk about faith in action, and it has deepened my faith.

“Two weeks ago we buried a bishop and I shed a tear and cried. The pain of losing people cannot be ignored.”

Ashwin Trikamjee, SA president of the Hindu Maha Sabha, said the inability to conduct services at temples had put a dampener on the work of religious leaders.

“People have had to readjust and conduct their prayers in isolation in their own homes without any kind of guidance from religious leaders,” Trikamjee said.

He said he had lost many close friends and a family member to Covid.

“At one stage it was almost becoming a daily occurrence. Initially you are left in a total state of shock because it happens so quickly.

“The funeral then takes place in total isolation because you hardly have any people there. The family and community support that uplifts your soul during this trying time is not there anymore, and you have to face the challenges by yourself.”

Kabelo Mabalane, head of pastoral care at Rhema Bible church in Johannesburg, said not being able to gather had “left a massive void in the lives of our people”.

The church has been shut since the start of the pandemic but stays in contact with members via television broadcasts, live streaming and social media.

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