I Became a Pastor during the Pandemic

Canadian columnist, biographer, former media personality, and Anglican clergyman Michael Coren chronicles his experience as a Reverend during the pandemic in his article, “I Became a Pastor during the Pandemic.” Entering the priesthood in September 2021, Coren did not anticipate beginning his career behind a computer screen. He writes: “Around the start of the pandemic, I would visit a dying woman. As an Anglican priest, I had already seen her several times and spent time with her family. We were always masked at these meetings and often distanced. Then, one night, the call came. She was close to the end, I was told. Would I pray over her on speaker phone and give the last rites?” Coren prayed until her daughter informed him her mother was gone.

Conducting liturgies and masses over Zoom made connecting with his parish difficult. At the same time, COVID-19 kept him busier than ever with endless last rites and funeral processions, alongside visits to many isolated individuals in need of connection and support. Constantly conducting house calls for parishioners, Coren embodies a unique subset of frontline workers. The pandemic exacerbated loneliness and thrust him into a harrowing struggle to support the most vulnerable amid mass death.

Framed autobiographically, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it portrays a period of crisis and adaptation, detailing the reimagining of pastoral care through virtual services and ministry at a distance to find connection amid isolation. Beyond recounting his daily work as a pastor during the pandemic, Coren explores questions of identity and growth in relation to organized religion. He emphasizes the need for greater empathy and tolerance, particularly in light of growing anger over revelations of child abuse within the Catholic Church. In the failures of the church and the devastation of the pandemic, however, Coren identifies the significance of his role—not as a leader or proselytizer, but as an essential pillar of support for his community in times of crisis.