Bishop Erastus Njoroge of Four Square Pillar Church in Mweiga, Nyeri, prays after President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the reopening of places of worship. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]
Healing miracles may be one of the activities that preachers will not get a chance to perform as the Government instituted tough measures that will keep the sick away from places of worship.
Unlike what the Bible says in Matthew 19:14, children will also not be allowed into the church under the new rules.
Those who are in need of healing will now have to stretch their faith further through live-streamed services if they have the electronic gadgets and the services are streamed since the new guidelines will not allow them into houses of worship.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the new guidelines, prepared by the Interfaith Council of Kenya when he addressed the nation yesterday.
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Not more than 100
The guidelines say that individuals who have underlying health conditions and are 58 years and above should not join others for communal worship.
“A maximum of 100 participants are allowed at each worship service, which should not take more than an hour. Sunday schools and madrassa shall remain suspended until further notice,” said the president.
He said in-person worship should not include congregants under the age of 13 or those above 58 years with underlying conditions.
From what was developed by the Catholic fraternity and handed to the Interfaith Council of Kenya, even having symptoms synonymous to those of Covid-19 will deny you an opportunity to attend a worship service.
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“It is recommended during this period to limit the celebration of the anointing of the sick to those who are dying and those about to undergo serious surgery,” reads the guidelines as presented by the Catholic church.
Places of worship will also not allow persons without masks to enter and those without should be provided with. For places of worship that hold more than one service, then there will be disinfection before the next service starts.
Practices like giving a hi-five during the service will no longer apply as there will be no physical contact. The sign of peace shared by Catholics may also not be done with physical distance put at 1.5 metres.
Offertory baskets
“To prevent sharing of materials and items among members, remove all missals, hymnals, prayer cards and other paper resources, all congregants will be required to leave their contacts,” reads the guidelines, which the Catholic Church seeks to adopt. Collection of the offering will be done without passing the offertory baskets to the next congregant as the church seeks to adopt a centralised designation for collection.
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“Those in charge of the collection will wear gloves,” it adds.
For the Catholics, there is already consideration to change the sign of peace or do away.
“Communion should be received by hand and every minister and communicant should sanitise their hands prior to distribution and reception,” the document reads.
“If any physical contact occurs between the minister and the communicant, the minister should immediately sanitise his hands.”
