As a result of the suspension of religious services and other big gatherings in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the faithful on Sunday resorted to alternative means of getting spiritual food, as opposed to the usual ways of having to go to church. After registering its first COVID 19 case Saturday, Rwanda through its Ministry of Health announced serious measures among which; schools, places of worship, and other large gatherings will be temporarily suspended for a period of two weeks effective Sunday, 15 March. The new guidelines prompted clerics to inform their congregations that church services were suspended but some churches in the city managed to stream their sermons online with the Catholic Church conducted its mass on the public broadcaster, Rwanda Television. The catholic faithful had the opportunity to listen to preaching, hymns among other customary liturgies in the comfort of their homes streamed live on RBA social media platforms, as well as on TV. Archbishop Antoine Kambanda of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kigali who conducted the mass said that although they as congregants were not able to gather together, their hearts were united. “Although we have not been able to come together physically as usual in churches, our hearts are together. Wherever everyone is, whether at home, let us put our hearts together and direct them to The Almighty as we mark this third Sunday of the lent period,” he said. Kambanda prayed to God to save the world from the coronavirus pandemic. “Let us pray to God to save us from this coronavirus pandemic that is worrying the world. Let us pray so that the doctors and researchers will be able to find the cure that will prevent it and stop the speed at which it is. Let us pray for those that have died due to the virus so that God will receive them to His Kingdom, let us also pray for those that have been affected by this disease,” he said. At around 3pm, the Twitter sermon of the Catholic Church mass had amounted up to 16,000 viewers. Christian Life Assembly in Nyarutarama served its Christians to an audio sermon streamed online; Zion Temple aired its services on its own Authentic Radio and Television, Facebook page and YouTube channel. The YouTube service by Zion Temple also gathered good viewership and by afternoon, about 2480 people had watched it. In a video, Apostle Paul Gitwaza, the lead pastor at Zion Temple urged believers to respect the government’s preventive measures, as he prayed to God for His salvation for the land from the pandemic. The Anglican Diocese of Kigali was live on its Facebook page, and Christ Embassy Remera did the same. Some churches, however, did not provide online options for believers but encouraged them to still take measures to pray from home. While some followed sermons online, others prayed at home and in offices. “I prayed from work, alone,” said Amos, a Christian in Kigali, while for Francis Byaruhanga, home was the prayer place.
