(LWI) -Church of SwedenArchbishop AntjeJackelnisamongseveral dozenleaders of differentreligious traditionswhoofferpersonalinsightsfromtheCoronavirus pandemicas part of an online project pioneered by theElijah Interfaith Institute.Foundedinthe late 1990s,the institute brings togetherJewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Bahaileadersto build friendships and share the richspiritualresources of theirvariousfaith traditions.

As part of theinstitutes mission to engage with pressing contemporaryissues, the Coronaspection projectsets out to exploremanyof theunsettlingquestionsbrought sharply into focusby thedeadlypandemic and resulting lockdown of'normal life in countries across the world.Theologians, teachers, preachersand leaderstalk frankly about their feelings of fear,frustration, pain and grief, as well as the ways theyhave learnt to cope with the sudden, dramaticchangesinpersonal and community life.

The institutes found and director,Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein,is a longtime friend of many of the people featured in the project andconducts mostof the online interviews himself.Others,like Pope Francisor Orthodox Patriarch Daniel of Rumania, share hopesand thoughtson the crisis throughsermons orpre-recordedreflections.Alongside the fullYouTubeinterviews, the website also offers bite-sized gemsof wisdomfrom each speakerand a catalogue of texts and biographies.

In her conversation with Rabbi Alon, ArchbishopJackeln, who serves as the Lutheran World Federation vice-president for the Nordic region,reflects on the way the pandemic hassparkeddeepanxietyand uncertaintywithin Swedish society.While on the surface, it is a very secular country, she says, if you scratch the surface a little,there is a hunger and thirstforspiritual insights that can help people cope with theirfears for the futureat this time.

The answers that we can offer[]are grounded in our faith tradition, she continues, but should not necessarily be phrased in theologically exclusivelanguage.Comparing the fear of the disciples,isolated and aloneon Easter Saturday, with the anxieties of people quarantined by the Coronavirus,she says the main challenge for the church is to help people adapt and find courage torespond to the crisis in positive and creative ways.

The Lutheran leadertalks about the transformative power of prayer and the need to cultivate spiritual resilience,rather than projecting anxieties and fear ontoothers.Thepracticeof prayer, she says,is a powerful way to widen our horizons, gather new courage and get a change of perspective on issues.Spiritual wisdom, she insists, will always encourage us to look after the most vulnerable and acknowledge that thecrisiswe experience is different from that in countries where you dont even have soapor sanitizer.

Noting that the pandemic has raised important new theologicalreflections aroundthe nature of evil, personal and structural sinandthelimits of free will, ArchbishopJackelnexpresses hope that people will emerge from thecrisis with powerful new insightsanda new sense of proportion,particularly regarding the climatecrisis.The church shouldbea voice of hope and prayer, she concludes, a place to harbor anxiety and griefanda source of inspiration for good moral action,helping to transform anxietyinto loveof neighborand carefor creation.

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Lutheran leader shares spiritual insights on pandemic - The Lutheran World Federation