During times of crisis, humans tend to turn to religion and spirituality for comfort. We finally come to the end of our tether, of what we’re able to comfort ourselves with, and we reach for something bigger.

But the year is 2020, and the role organized religion is playing in our lives is profoundly different. With fewer and fewer of us attending religious services even without a pandemic, and more and more of us identifying as “not affiliated” with a religious group (I didn’t make this up, this is from the Pew study from just last year), what happens when we need answers and comfort? What happens when we feel let down or betrayed by our religions of origin, and yet we feel drawn back into them during times like this? What does spiritual leadership look like during a time where we couldn’t even go to a church service if we wanted to?

Friends, I want to invite you into one of the most interesting and satisfying conversations I’ve had about spirituality in a good long while. May I present, the good Reverend Dr. Rob McClellan.