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| Anglican Church Masvingo |
Upenyu Chaota
As the number of Covid-19 cases
continues to rise in the country, the Anglican Church has suspended services
and encouraged its members to pray at home.
As at Aug 02, the number of
confirmed coronavirus cases in the country was 3 921; with 1 016 recoveries,
2835 active cases and 70 deaths.
Under the current Level 2
national lockdown, churches are allowed to conduct services but with requirements
to observe strict social distancing regulations that include a maximum number
of 50 worshippers per single gathering.
The Anglican Church has, however,
decided to abandon services altogether and urge people to pray from home as a
way to reduce chances of congregants contracting the virus.
Anglican Church in Zimbabwe national
chairperson Bishop Ignatius Makumbe told TellZim News that the church did not
want to unnecessarily expose people to harm’s way.
“The current state of affairs in
the country with regards to Covid-19 is disconcerting. People should stay at
home and pray from home. We have suspended all church services for two weeks
and we will be carrying a review after a fortnight. We are doing this to
protect our people because we feel now is not the time to gather.
“We know that government approves
gatherings of a maximum of 50 people for purposes of worship but we believe that
the number has become too high for us under the obtaining situation,” said
Bishop Makumbe.
He said churches must lead in the
fight against Covid-19 by avoiding gatherings since God was omnipresent.
“It is not about gathering
together; a prayer from home is as powerful as a prayer made from anywhere else.
Fifty people are way too much in light of the spike in the national cases of
Covid-19. We have to take a stand by stepping back,” he said.
Just like businesses, churches
are fighting to remain sustainable as they have bills and salaries to pay as
well as other financial obligations to meet.
