Work Together To Worship Together
Written by Ps Alby Yip
Some Singaporeans were recently charged for unauthorized access and release of COVID-19 information under the Official Secrets Act. I think I can understand why they did this. The need to be in the know. I know this feeling, and have my reasons to be fixated with daily news about infections and reports on community cases. In April 2020, I cut short my sabbatical and returned to helm our church’s COVID-19 Taskforce.
The duty of the Taskforce is to oversee the safety of worshippers coming to church and also to manage and disseminate information. Oftentimes, the Taskforce needs to make decisions with very short runways. New developments and government directives get issued on a Friday and we have to scramble to put things in place before Sunday.
Sometimes, decisions made were sensitive and may not be able to satisfy everyone. So I always have these two important guiding principles that shape my decision-making for the Taskforce: Firstly, it is to organise the church in such a way that the authorities will allow us to have worshippers come back for in-person worship services. Secondly, it is to keep our worshippers safe so that everyone can be assured of coming back to a safe environment to worship God. Whether it is weekday or weekend activities, nothing must jeopardise the ability to return for Sunday in-person worship services. I thank God that He has so far kept Zion Bishan safe and that more people are returning and even inviting visitors to come.
I thank God for the Taskforce members who have been working tirelessly and closely together. It is not an easy task to manage eight worship services and about 1200 worshippers every week. My thanks also to the many brothers and sisters who have stepped up to serve at each worship service, handling the many challenging ground issues. I thank God for you all.
I seek also the understanding and cooperation of every worshipper. We are required by law, and for the safety of all, to fulfil all safety measures. I acknowledge that it may cause some inconvenience, especially if we compare it with the freedom we enjoyed pre-COVID, but these are not normal times. The recent spike in community and dormitory cases, particularly among those who have supposed to have developed some immunity through vaccination or from past infections, is a stark reminder that we cannot afford to let down our guards. We need to diligently observe safety and hygiene practices both outside and more so within the church. Let us work together that we may worship together!
