A church member watches the St Thomas’ Cathedral Kuching Sunday service at his home.
KUCHING: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s announcement today on the extension of the Movement Control Order (MCO) period for another two weeks will mean that Anglican churches in Sarawak and Brunei will continue broadcasting their church services online for the time being.
This was confirmed by Bishop of the Anglican Church in Sarawak and Brunei, the Right Reverend Datuk Danald Jute as he explained that the online church services will include pre-recorded church services for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter this year.
“Churches however may celebrate Easter and Pentecost together such as the Resurrection and The Coming of the Holy Spirit on 24 May and depending on when MCO is lifted, churches may also choose one of the Sundays to celebrate Easter,” he added in a statement today.
On Mar 13, Bishop Danald said that the Anglican churches in Sarawak and Brunei will be suspending all church services from March 15 till April 1 this year as concern mounts regarding the recent developments surrounding the spread of the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19).
The move, he pointed out, was a temporary measure while waiting for further advice from the authorities.
“In light of the increasing number of cases of Covid-19 infections in Sarawak and Brunei, and having taken into consideration the latest advisory from the Ministry of Health, along with professional views expressed and conveyed to us, we have decided to temporarily suspend our Sunday and weekday church services effective March 15,” he said at the time.
At the moment, during the duration of the MCO period, Anglican churches in the state as well as Brunei are encouraged to conduct live streaming of their church services through various Internet platforms, with a small number of congregations present in the churches.