Archbishop Simon Poh
KUCHING (Dec 23): Both the Anglican and Catholic Church in the state will not host Christmas open houses this year to help minimise social contact due to the risk posed by the Covid-19 Omicron variant, said Archbishop Simon Poh.
The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) chairman and Catholic Archbishop said the decision was also agreed by the Rt Rev Datuk Danald Jute – Bishop of the Anglican Church in Sarawak and Brunei.
“Traditionally the Anglican and Catholic Church would have open houses where state leaders as well as various spiritual leaders would join us for the celebration,” he said in a statement today.
Poh said ACS heads had on Nov 21 also agreed that churches would not have house to house carolling.
“This is because such movements from house to house, even by smaller carolling groups, increase the contact between houses through house to house carolling over many evenings in December,” he explained.
Poh said ACS had also decided to hold its joint Christmas service virtually.
“This was officially launched on Dec 22 with the theme ‘Hope’. It is our sincere desire that this message of ‘Hope’ will be carried into the Christmas celebration,” he said.
Poh also thanked the Unit for Other Religions (Unifor) for discussing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for houses of worship so that churches could open for the Christmas celebration with proper standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“ACS supports the SOPs issued on Dec 17. We believe that this restriction has been thought through to ensure the safety of all the people in Sarawak,” he said.
Poh also applauded all Church heads and leaders in Sarawak for their collaboration and support in adhering to the SOPs issued by the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) and Unifor over the last two years.
“This has effectively prevented churches from becoming the source of outbreaks of new clusters. In this way, I am thankful that churches have contributed greatly to help contain this pandemic in Sarawak,” he said.
He also exhorted all Christians, family, and friends to adhere to the SOPs set by SDMC and Unifor.
“As Christians, we are committed to ensure the safety of everyone in the fight to contain this pandemic,” he said.
He urged the public to always wear facemasks in public, reduce circles of contact, maintain a minimum of one metre physical distancing, and to regularly sanitise and wash hands.
“Christmas is a season of caring and giving. I would like to appeal to everyone to always remember families, the elderly, and those who are in need living amidst us in our neighbourhood. Let us be ready to give a helping hand to bring hope and joy of Christmas,” he said.
With the flooding in Peninsular Malaysia devastating many family homes, Poh also asked the public donate to the flood victims who will need to rebuild their lives.
“God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause (2 Corinthians 9:8).
“When we believe that God has generously given Jesus to us and that God has blessed our life, we too are invited to be generous to share and bless others in need. Let us make a difference in our society this Christmas,” he stressed.