{"id":14874,"date":"2022-05-23T09:13:39","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T09:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship"},"modified":"2022-05-23T09:57:56","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T09:57:56","slug":"pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic wave beset places of worship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>The global outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) has called for unusual options not only in workplaces but also in places of worship. First diagnosed in Wuhan province of China, Coronavirus<\/p>\n

has surged throughout the world and has made it now a challenge for gatherings as it spreads at an alarming rate. The gatherings of people in large numbers<\/p>\n

have been banned to counter the virus attack rates as such assemblies are feared to pose threat to public health. Technology has on the other hand become the<\/p>\n

common factor which has simplified and enabled some operations to continue. One of the faith leaders who spoke to Informative Newspaper said the Covid-19 protocols including lockdowns have brought<\/p>\n

challenges in the churches. Prophet Angel Raphael of Pillar of Fire in Maputsoe said his congregants are confronted by \u201cfear of what\u2019s next. \u201d He urged the christian<\/p>\n

community to do away with \u201cpanic and fear\u201d citing biblical scriptures of Deuteronomy 31:6 and Isaiah 43:2 which talk about courage and resilience respectively.<\/p>\n

The Maputsoe based prophet described his congregation as different in what he said is the \u201cmaturity level\u201d saying some are at an advanced stage while others are in the beginning stages.<\/p>\n

He gave an anecdotal example of their ability to pray independently saying some it is still a challenge for them to pray for themselves. Raphael said people with weakling faith need<\/p>\n

to be \u201cnurtured\u201d adding that they need \u201ctender care\u201d like babies. He expressed fear over what he said part of his congregation might \u201cbackslide. \u201d He urged the christians to remain unshaken<\/p>\n

during this prevailing pandemic era. \u201cGod is with us even in this situation,\u201d he said. Asked how his church counters the challenges posed by the pandemic, he said they hold virtual services.<\/p>\n

He however hastened to point out that very few church members have access to those, saying sometimes only three people will be watching online out of plus or minus 100 congregants.<\/p>\n

The prophet said another challenge facing them is when they have to counsel their members over the phone. While they make breakthroughs reaching people remotely, he said some require the physical<\/p>\n

presence of the preacher. Also, he said his led church is faced with the challenge of conducting deliverance sessions (a practice in some churches where<\/p>\n

people believed to be possessed by the evil spirits are prayed for to exorcise such spirits). This exercise he said should be done physically as he argues that over the phone is a challenge.<\/p>\n

The government had previously capped the number of church attendants at 50 while presently gatherings have been barred, a move said to counter the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n

Pastor Mpholo Tlhoeli of Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in Mohalalitoe Maseru said the Covid-19 era has affected the church \u201cnegatively. \u201d He continued to say the church is part of the community<\/p>\n

and it has support staff whose salaries are paid from the church\u2019s coffers. Pastor Tlhoeli said the church\u2019s income comes from the congregants and if they are retrenched he said that affects their<\/p>\n

financial contribution to the church. The AFM pastor said their church\u2019s charitable works have been offset due to prevailing circumstances. He said they were to launch the poverty<\/p>\n

reduction programme aimed at capacitating elderly people with technical skills to produce and sell their produce. Tlhoeli said the church sponsored orphanage is<\/p>\n

also feeling the pinch as it is becoming a challenge for the church to maintain it. Asked how it is surviving, he said there are \u201cexternal arms\u201d which are sending contributions to keep it afloat.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the children are dependent on church<\/p>\n

[for survival]<\/p>\n

,\u201d he said. Meanwhile, on March 16 Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL), a local ecumenical body, issued a statement saying, \u201cwhile not<\/p>\n

interfering with each church\u2019s administration, CCL urges the churches to align themselves with the preventive measures against the spread of this [Coronavirus] pandemic\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201d Also, on March 20 and April 17 this christian churches body issued subsequent statements where they urged the nation to take<\/p>\n

precautionary measures against the Covid-19 disease. In the latter statement, the organization said its members had postponed events which attract high volume gatherings such as Easter services in what they said was a measure meant to curb the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. The global outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) has called for unusual options not only in workplaces but also in places of worship. First diagnosed in Wuhan province of China, Coronavirus has surged throughout the world and has made it now a challenge for gatherings as it spreads at an alarming rate. The gatherings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":14873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8,16],"tags":[233,246,270,245],"class_list":["post-14874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-covid-19","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nPandemic wave beset places of worship - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The global outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) has called for unusual options not only in workplaces but also in places o ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pandemic wave beset places of worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The global outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) has called for unusual options not only in workplaces but also in places o ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-23T09:13:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-23T09:57:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-628b5a8141f0f.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Pandemic wave beset places of worship\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-23T09:13:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-23T09:57:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship\"},\"wordCount\":722,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/05\/postQueueImg_22-628b5a8141f0f.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Lesotho\",\"COVID-19\",\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/pandemic-wave-beset-places-of-worship\",\"name\":\"Pandemic wave beset places of worship - 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