Pastoral care with bereaved widows who lost their Spouses to COVID-19

Abstract

The plight of widows who lost their spouses to COVID-19 has been given little or no attention in the formulation of pastoral response in church and society at large. Religious and cultural rituals which aid healing and connect the living with the next world seemed to be scanty during the period of lockdown. This has resulted on some widows resenting the church. In their vulnerable situation, how can the church open its doors and hear the painful experiences that the widows went through? Women, in this case widows, would like to tell their stories, to have someone to listen to them, to be understood without being judged. Oduyoye refers to the stories about our joys and sorrows are holy. She adds that sharing these stories makes us helpless, however, without sharing, we cannot create a sense of belonging and solidarity. Our experiences are priceless routes that we have travelled alongside God while battling for access to complete humanity. They are occasions that have allowed us to experience God's blessings of life, (2001:21). Sharing such experiences would help in the healing process. What are these stories? The stories of widows in our congregations and women’s organizations who are leading other women in the church and yet they are going through the pain of losing a spouse due to COVID-19, and the stories of those women who are our neighbours and are grieving in silence. Have they been able to share or tell their stories? This study focuses on the pastoral care to bereaved widows who lost their spouses to COVID-19. To achieve this, a semi-structured interview guide was used to assist with interviewing of the widows as well as the clergy. The study participants were members of the Methodist Church in Southern Africa, (MCSA), who fitted the study criteria. Findings of the study will be presented in the context of existing literature. Although the implications of pastoral care to bereaved widows are applicable in various contexts, the findings from this research will be limited to the MCSA (in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan). Keywords: Pastoral Care, Bereaved Widows, Spouses, COVID-19, MCSA