Audio Documentary: Black Pentecostals, the Pandemic and the Future of Christianity

Produced and edited by Sheila Marshall and written and presented by Robert Beckford this insightful audio documentary explores the black pentecostal church’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The documentary discusses how the church should respond to this pandemic and assesses whether the response so far has been effective. It also seeks to answer the controversial question of whether churches should get involved in political and social justice matters, and how best they can do this without compromising their beliefs and perceived role in the community. There was the feeling that the church should move beyond its comfort zone and take the lead during global emergencies and lead the drive in moving the agenda forward to benefit the black community.

The documentary also looks at the power of contemporary gospel music and explored some of the gaps in the repertoire which prevents the genre from having a significant impact during challenging times. For example, there is a lack of music that articulates the current emotions that people are feeling and the reality of people’s lives. This point was expanded into a wider point of the church overlooking the powerful emotions, stress and anxiety many are experiencing by focusing on upbeat messages. It was identified that this denial of our emotions can lead to many questioning their faith, but can also affect the mental health of black Christians in general.

We thought this was an excellent exploration of the role of the black church, which is one of the most powerful organisations in the black community but hasn’t engaged effectively with political and social issues. During the current times, where racial inequalities and injustices have been fully exposed through COVID-19’s disproportionate effect on the black community, the white privilege so boldly displayed by Amy Cooper and the brutality of police racism, the church is needed now more than ever before.