Chaplaincy Transitioning Covid-19 in the South African Mining Sector

Abstract

Chaplaincy or pastoral care as a model of emotional, social, and spiritual support continues to be offered to both religious and non-religious communities. Although its inclusive nature appears to have diminished in recent years, it became very apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic when it became accessible to both religious and non-religious individuals. While there is extensive research highlighting the value of pastoral care during the Covid-19 crisis, little appears to have addressed its impact and character on the mining sector in general, but particularly the South African mining sector. During the Covid-19 scare in 2020, chaplains provided ongoing emotional, social and spiritual support to frontline workers in other professional fields in general, and to all workers working in the mining sector in particular. While many of the miners who benefited from this facility belonged to religious communities, some were clearly non-religious. Combining literature reviews and case study methods, this paper underscores the value of pastoral care in the mining sector, particularly its availability to South African miners who have had to isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 in 2020. In essence, this will not only underscore the presence of chaplaincy in the mining industry during Covid-19, but also explicitly define the value of inclusive chaplaincy in relation to and beyond the context of pandemics such as Covid-19.