Add to them, the lengths some have gone to, to continue some form of liturgical practice, and then there is the absence of those who have yet to return to Church.

"Globally, the coronavirus is probably the most disruptive event impacting liturgy since the Second Vatican Council", Dr Joe Grayland told CathNews.

"In New Zealand and around the globe we were unable to celebrate the end of Lent, Holy Week, the Paschal Triduum, and most of Eastertide and it continues to disrupt".

The impact of Vatican II has lasted fifty years, but in some places, it took up to ten years to implement. Even the recent translation of the liturgy into English was implemented over a period of years, he said.

"By comparison, the global impact of the Coronavirus was almost instant", he said.

"It only takes one community outbreak somewhere in New Zealand and the lifetime faith practises of many are once again disrupted".

Click to take part in Learning from liturgical disruption survey.

Grayland, a Doctor of Theology in liturgical science, says liturgical disruption came as part of the experience of social disruption and physical distancing and he is looking to see if there is anything the Church can learn from it.

He is inviting readers of CathNews in New Zealand and around the world to complete a survey which is part of his ongoing research into New Zealand's liturgical life.

The survey asks questions about your experience during levels three and four; when either church attendance numbers were severely restricted or people were prevented from going to Church.

He is keen for you to assess the impacts of the liturgical disruption on your parish and your personal prayer life during, and since then.

The survey covers topics such as online worship and your experience of it, the impact of restrictions on church services, diocesan and parish communication during the lockdown and ensuing disruption the impact on parish life and how you might see the future.

It asks whether you think the decision to close churches was the right one and asks if you think the contemporary parish structure can withstand this change.

Grayland says all responses are anonymous and the survey should take between 8 and 10 minutes to complete.

It can be taken either on a computer or mobile device.

However, one recent broadcast did not quite go as planned after he went off for his hour's daily exercise on his bike. Read more

Under the current law, up to 10 people are permitted to make up the church service.

With such a limitation, it became abundantly clear that the parishes would exclude people.

Eleanor, representing the Foxton and Shannon communities was invited to be one of ten people participating in the Cathedral as the parishes live-streamed Sunday Mass.

On Friday she wrote.

Dear Friends,
I went to Bunnings this afternoon.

There were no queues, people were walking freely in and out of the store, shopping at close proximity to one another and then it dawned on me what Jacinda was doing.

It is not only unpractical but cruel, and now we are presenting this same model to our parishioners.

Imagine a parish of 200 people where only ten can enter the church at a time with restrictions, which means that parishioners must now scramble to get into their own church.

When the Mass was in the presbytery it was beautiful because it looked like a family saying Mass together but if we are going to have a Mass in the Cathedral or church with only a selected few and all the other parishioners excluded, Jacinda would succeed in humiliating us as a worshipping community.

Thank you for asking me to come, but in light of what I experienced today, I have to decline.

God bless us all
Eleanor

Mass from the Cathedral with just ten people was cancelled however continued as it was during lockdown, live-streamed from the confines of the Cathedral Presbytery.

• The Cathedral, Palmerston North, Our Lady of Lourdes and Foxton parishes