Viewing the impact of Covid-19 through the eyes of retired clergy

Abstract

Although largely invisible in the ministry statistics published by the Church of England, ministry-active retired clergy continue to make an effective contribution to liturgical and pastoral provision. The present study compares the responses of 231 ministry-active retired clergy with the responses of 748 full-time stipendiary clergy to the Coronavirus, Church & You Survey, to test the contrasting theses that retired clergy may be seen either as a helpful repository of wisdom or as unhelpfully out of date. The data suggest that retired clergy espoused the trajectory to the digital age with as much enthusiasm as stipendiary clergy. At the same time, however, retired clergy clung more keenly than stipendiary clergy to an Anglican model of ministry that valued both local place and sacred space.