BHUBANESWAR: Setting an example in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the Church of Christ (Union Church) at Lokseva Marg in the Capital City has decided to host Christmas celebrations online this time. While the church will not open for worshippers on December 25, prayers would be s t r e a m e d o n YouTube. Thanking the State Government and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for allowing them to open Church for Christmas celebration for a day on December 25, the Church authorities said they will hold online celebrations as they don’t want to risk the lives of people in the middle of a pandemic.
“The administration has allowed churches to open their gates for a day on Christmas for a limited number of people to attend the worship with all Covid-19 measures in place. However, it could be difficult to manage the crowd on Christmas for which we have decided to keep the Church closed on the day,” said Union Church secretary Paresh Das. Das said Church worship entails a crowd sitting together for one to two hours at a fixed time which could lead to spread of infection.
He said that the church prayers on Christmas day will be available on YouTube at 10 am and 4pm. A special Christmas eve programme will also be streamed on YouTube at 7 pm on December 24. The midnight worship will also be done on Zoom platform at 11 pm on the day. Das said they are developing a software though which they would be able to organise four to five prayers a day. At least 100 people will be able to attend these prayers in each sitting.
While the Union Church has decided to organise Christmas worship and prayer on virtual mode, some churches have sought permission from BMC to organise it on their premises in a restricted manner. Municipal Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary said that they have received applications from at least 10 churches.