Pastor Eric Andrae is a Lutheran pastor whose pastoral work has now become virtual. As a chaplain for Lutheran Student Fellowship and International Student Ministry, he knows the spiritual struggles his students and parishioners are encountering as they practice social distancing. We chat about how he is reaching out to his congregation, what a Lutheran approach to remote worship looks like, and what Martin Luther had to say about social distancing during the bubonic plague.
How an epidemic changes pastoral work
Corporate worship and livestream services
Means of grace
Scriptural reading to grow closer in the Word
Spiritual communion
Forming and maintaining habits in isolation
Communal intimacy
God works all things ultimately for the good
Benefits for the spiritual life: reaching out and connecting with others
Martin Luther on social isolation during the bubonic plague
God’s will works through people
Compline and daily prayer