In the Current Issue: "When Sacred Space is Violated"

The issue of Liturgy entitled “Rites for Wounded Communities,” guest-edited by David Hogue, explores a wide range of responses in which churches and chaplains have engaged in order to help people affected by disasters and violence come to terms with the after-effects and the on-going trauma. This excerpt is from a Presbyterian pastor, Kathy Riley, who is familiar with pastoral responses to disasters both natural and human-caused. –– Melinda Quivik

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When sacred spaces can be cleaned up, restored, or rebuilt after physical damage, it will be important to hold the worship services and storytelling sessions mentioned above in that space. The prayers, hymns, and liturgies will likely be imbued with a combination of grief for what was violated or damaged and thanksgiving and hope for the expected restoration. As anyone who has been involved in remodeling or construction projects knows, it is best to overestimate the length of time needed before the space will be ready. In addition to the sense of loss that comes with the damage there may be anticipatory grief over planned weddings, special worship services, and other events that have to be held in alternate space. Once again, faith leaders will help the healing process by acknowledging and honoring as real and meaningful what some may see as the “trivial” loss and grief of these altered events.

Many traditions have services for dedicating or re-dedication of sacred space. For example, the
PC(USA) Book of Common Worship offers liturgical resources for dedicating a church building
and furnishings, as well as a resource for vacating a church building that can be adapted if the
building is to be torn down and re-built. Since the dedication service will naturally be tailored
to the specific space and circumstances of its damage or destruction, materials from storytelling
sessions and liturgies of remembrance can be incorporated into the service.

A specific date in the liturgical year or life of the congregation may be chosen for the service,
with digital or physical images of the former space and its furnishings woven in. Themes of light
and rebirth, lament for what has not been restored along with thanksgiving and hope, are com-
monly seen when it is time to dedicate the space. Reentry and rededication services can be
planned as soon as it is practical. A pastor may hold a small, simple time of prayer alone or with
a few others as an initial step, especially when it feels too soon or too painful for the congrega-
tion members to enter.

Special care will need to be taken when the event that damaged or destroyed the physical space
was accompanied by a disaster that led to deaths in the congregation or wider community. As
mentioned earlier, healing can take place in vastly different time frames, and there may be those
in the congregation who simply cannot return to newly dedicated sacred space at all. Some will
not be able to participate in the service of rededication but may be able to return quietly without
anything to mark the occasion. It can be helpful to record this service so others can view it in
their own home when they feel ready.

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Kathy Riley is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who serves on the National Presbyterian Disaster Assistance staff as Associate for Emotional and Spiritual Care. She served as a transitional pastor in seven congregations prior to joining the PDA staff. Kathy has responded to natural and human caused disasters.

Kathy Riley, "Responding when Sacred Space is Violated," Liturgy 39, no. 2 (2024): 15–22, https://doi.org/10.1080/0458063X.2024.2330842.