Worship Reshaped explores the changes in religious worship in a post-pandemic world.
Worship Reshaped is a short documentary about religious worship changes and the maintenance of community bonding after the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, public worship at churches, mosques and temples were shut down around Victoria, stopping congregations from physically performing religious practices in a community setting. To preserve a sense of faith and solidarity, many sermons went entirely online and live-streaming services. Collective worship survived the pandemic since religious communities embraced digital technology and persisted in practising privately and remotely in homes. As restrictions loosen and places of worship reopen, worshippers return to public services while adhering to COVID safety rules. The increasingly virtual experience of religion gives rise to a question: Will virtual worship replace real-world, physical worship in a post-pandemic world?
The film’s narrative unfolds the religious perceptions of the issue through engaging CrossCulture, a Christian church in Melbourne. We hear Senior Pastor Sam Reeve telling us how the church adapts to COVID-19, speaking about the relational connection and communal dimension in Christianity. We follow him and the volunteers hosting prayers to both on-site congregants and online streamers, going in-depth to the religious rethinking directed towards breaking the wall between virtual religion and in-person religion. We visit congregant Matthew Lim who watches a CrossCulture’s online service on YouTube and share his thoughts about the unconventional ways of worship and fellowship. This story presents a post-pandemic vision of worship and suggests religions seize the opportunity to be resourceful in a future era of pandemics.
