Leon Usigbe, Author at Tribune Online

Churches in Karshi, a satellite town in Abuja held services as usual, on Sunday, with officiating priests leading prayers against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country. The Parish Priest of St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Rev Fr Mathias Selemobri, in his homily, urged God to show his glory on COVID-19 as he maintained that the pandemic cannot be allowed to have the last word. He observed that Nigerians were scared of the virus, which they knew nothing about previously. He said: “This coronavirus, God, you will show your glory. Coronavirus cannot have the last word. God will have the last word. We haven’t heard about Coronavirus before. When we hear it, we catch a cold. Jesus is the light of the world. We won’t shake because of Coronavirus. “We have to put things in context or we die before our time. We won’t die before our time.” The church complied with the directive of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja for worshippers to refrain from performing the traditional shaking of hands during the exchange of “the sign of peace.” ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Worshippers defy govt directives, attend church services Fr Selemobri reminded the congregation to self-isolate if they have any symptoms of the virus, while he promised to make available handwashing materials and sanitizers in the church. Worshippers in the Foursquare Gospel Church on Kurape Road, Karshi, also prayed against the virus, calling for God’s intervention in the outbreak. They sang: “God intervention in the whole world. We need God’s intervention in the whole world. "God, intervene because the devil is really working. He doesn’t want the people of God to go to church or school.” The Aso Rock Chapel was closed to worshippers on Sunday, but it conducted its service online. According to Laolu Akande, the spokesman to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in a tweet on Sunday, worshippers were able to participate in the service online. Osinbajo usually worships there any time he is in Abuja for the weekend. Akande tweeted on his personal handle, @ojakande, “Aso Villa Chapel just concluded an online service now, where worshippers were able to stay in their homes & be part of a Sunday service. We were blessed with the live streaming, kudos to the Villa Chaplain & the less than 10 people (number of staff on ground) that made it happen.” NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Leon Usigbe

Abuja churches pray against COVID-19 pandemic

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