Photo: Albin Hillert/World Council of Churches
WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit
and the moderator of the WCC Central Committee Dr Agnes Abuom urged
people and churches to give highest priority to “doing whatever we can
do to protect life” and ”ask churches not to have
public services tomorrow as this can become hubs of transmission of the
virus” and to follow strictly the rules and guidelines from authorities
based on WHO guidelines.
Tveit and Abuom ask the fellowship to reconsider their way of
working. “We must also be particularly aware that exactly what we
normally do, in community, is what we should not do now if we want to
protect life. We value togetherness in worship and Christian fellowship.
But in this time of crisis, and out of love for each other and the
neighbor, we should not gather in great numbers together, if at all, nor
touch or embrace each other.”
They added: “This is a time to touch each other’s hearts, by what we
say, what we share, what we do – and what we do not do – to protect the
life God loves so much. In that love, we must adapt our modes of worship
and fellowship to the needs of this time of the pandemic, in order to
avoid the risk of becoming sources of transmission rather than means of
grace.”
Tveit and Abuom invite the fellowship to make the Sunday as a day for
prayers for the most vulnerable people as refugees, elderly and people
affected by COVID19, to pray for the entire fellowship, and one human
family worldwide.
Tveit and Abuom “commend to all of you the advice and practical
recommendations offered by intergovernmental and governmental health
authorities to help protect the vulnerable in our communities and
others.”
For more information: www.oikoumene.org/corona