Free public lecture

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our experiences of liturgy and public prayer as never before. Providing pastoral care to the sick and dying in high-risk environments, alongside health professionals engaged in medical care, has necessitated the development of innovative approaches to this vital work.

The ACU Centre for Liturgy will examine this current reality in Liturgy, Prayer, Pastoral Care and Pandemics, a free public lecture presented live online via Zoom from New York, USA by Sr Professor Julia Upton rsm of St John’s University (New York) on Monday 12 October.

The ACU Centre for Liturgy welcomes Professor Upton, an expert in both liturgy and public health, to explore the challenge of providing pastoral care in the time of COVID-19. In her lecture, Professor Upton will review lessons learned from the renegotiation of what ‘community’ and ‘worship’ mean when gatherings are not permitted or are restricted by social distancing, and what kinds of pastoral care can occur for the sick and dying in hospitals and other settings when families cannot visit.

Pastoral care providers, clergy and parishioners will find this free public lecture of great benefit as we consider what has been learned so far amid the pandemic, and what the ramifications might be for future modes of pastoral care in the months and years ahead.

Event details

Event: ACU Centre for Liturgy presents a free online public lecture: Sr Professor Julia Upton rsm on Liturgy, Prayer, Pastoral Care and Pandemics – download the flyer

Date: Monday 12 October at 10-11.30am (AEST) via Zoom

Registration: essential by 7 October 2020 – register today

Visit the ACU website for more information on ACU Centre for Liturgy offerings.