[ad_1]
A church in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do at 11 a.m. on Christmas 25. 25 members gathered in this 600-seat church and held a Christmas service. Except for the senior pastor, all in attendance wore masks. Senior Pastor A said in a worship service, “For today, the Lord has come to this earth.” “The people of the world point the finger because they don’t know this. We must continue to worship. ”
Church has fewer than 20 people, online worship is the beginning
On this day, the first Christmas after the spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), some churches showed that they did not follow quarantine regulations correctly. A church in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, held a face-to-face Christmas service that included the baptism of babies. In the worship service attended by only a few members, two parents and a child were each baptized. The parents wore all the masks, but not the babies.
Quarantine authorities previously recommended a non-face-to-face Christmas service due to concerns about the spread of Corona 19. Religious facilities in the metropolitan area were excluded from those that were banned from private gatherings with more than 5 people, but the remote assembly is a rule according to the guidelines for step 2.5 of social distancing. Even if a meeting is held, only 20 people or fewer should meet, including worship service personnel.
In the religious world, voices of concern about Christmas worship have been raised face to face, as there have not been countless cases of group infection through the small church groups. A church official said: “I know that some churches have imposed a worship service attended by some lay people.
The quarantine authority “request for non-contact religious activities”
On this day dozens of live videos of the church where the Christmas service takes place were uploaded to YouTube. More than 20,000 viewers watched an online worship service at a large church in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do. Yeouido Full Gospel Church, the largest Protestant church in Korea, is organizing all non-face services on this day. Yoido Full Gospel Church said, “This is the first time in church history that it offers Christmas services online.”
Tae-ho Yoon, head of quarantine at Accident Control Headquarters, at the Corona 19 briefing, said: “Recently, group infections are happening a lot in small-scale religious facilities. Meetings and meals should be avoided. ”
Reporter Chae Hye-seon [email protected]
[ad_2]