ABSTRACT
This chapter explores all aspects of planning and conducting liturgy in the aftermath of disasters and traumatic events. Two questions, in particular, are addressed: first, how should trauma-aware liturgists address the problem of acts of worship, rhythms of worship, and other uses of sacred space in the phases that follow a shock event, and, secondly, what can be learned from the way ministers have faced the types of extraordinary challenge posed by such events as a terrorist attack, or a life-destroying fire? Woven together in the essay is theological reflection about what should be done, and why, as a community responds to a shock, together with commentary on remarkable examples of ministers crafting liturgical acts (several of which are included in full in the Appendices). The authors consider the opportunity and challenge posed by the liminal role that liturgy can play in the journey communities must make towards a new wisdom; how liturgies can offer words into experiences that baffle or silence the words of those most affected; how liturgies can bind communities together.
