What does it mean to be church in the midst of a pandemic, and what will it mean to be church as we begin to glimpse life beyond being fully defined by COVID-19?

These questions have been front and center for the conversations between Lutheran Center Director Deanna Thompson and Rev. Ingrid Rasmussen, Lead Pastor, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Rev. Augustin Muthusami, chair of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia’s Faith and Order Commission and pastor at Luther House Chapel near Kuala Lumpur, and Dr. Diana Butler Bass, author, speaker, and commentator on religion and contemporary spirituality.

Deanna’s conversation with Diana Butler Bass reprises some of the themes they talked about when they first met back in April 2020 as part of “Being the Church in this Time of Pandemic.” One year later Deanna and Diana return to the issue of virtual communion and online worship, along with the publication of Diana’s new book, Freeing Jesus, in order to reflect on what being church in the last year has taught us about being the body of Christ going forward.