Archbishop Simon Poh
KUCHING: The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) supports Unit For Other Religions’ (Unifor) recent decision to continue suspending all church activities until Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) ends on June 9.
Chairman of ACS Archbishop Simon Poh said they had in fact suspended their Sunday services from March 15 before the first phase of the MCO was enforced on March 18.
“As Christians in Sarawak, we have been supporting our state to contain Covid-19. We have come to realise the importance of social distancing to stop any new cluster,” he said in a statement to The Borneo Post’s sister paper Utusan Borneo here yesterday.
He said Unifor director Richard Lon had issued permission to ACS to live stream Sunday services with every phase of the MCO and CMCO which had greatly assisted ACS in obtaining police permit.
Even when churches are allowed to open, he said churchgoers would need to adhere to social distancing and other safety precautions, leading to reduced seating capacity and the need for more services.
“When churches are allowed to re-open, I would like to encourage the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions to stay safe at home and continue worshipping via live streaming.
“Parents would also be discouraged to bring their children to church as it would be difficult for them to keep social distancing and refrain from touching their faces and things around them,” he added.
Poh stressed that it would be prudent to re-start slowly to ensure there would not be a second wave.
“It is this sacrifice made by people of all religions together that will eventually ensure that our society and especially our churches will be safe for worship in the near future,” he added.
“All should also be kind, considerate and extend help to those in need during this pandemic. Above all pray, keep faith and trust in God,” he added.