Religious leaders are calling upon all believers of different religious denominations to overcome the effects of Covid-19, and other challenges exacerbated by the pandemic as they usher in the new year 2022. The remarks dominated their end-year messages by different clerics on New Years day. In his message, Hesron Byilingiro, the Seventh Day Adventist President in Rwanda urged them not to focus on the impacts of the pandemic, but optimism during the new year. “As we commence 2022, let’s cast our eyes away from what takes us far from our father, including this pandemic of Covid-19 and its aligned effects, because the prophets had alerted us about this before,” read his message to the congregation. I know how your different activities at your workplaces were affected by Covid, but I commend the passion and zeal I learnt from you regardless of the effects of the pandemic, added Byiringiro. But I urge you to maintain the status quo because work is always crucial, it prevents you from impracticality, and mental problems. According to Antoine Rutayisire, the Pastor of Remera Anglican Church, 2022 should be about looking beyond the impact of the pandemic and healing the wounds of the past. “Covid-19 should not take us away from God, well it had groundbreaking impacts, but we have to overcome it in the following year,” he said. Rutayisire added overcoming the pandemic impacts was the main theme for the cross over night, and noted that the topic will be one of the issues to be focused on in the first months of 2022. On his part, Sheikh Salim Hitimana, the Mufti of Rwanda invoked the Quran scriptures to revive hope in believers who were hardly hit by the pandemic. “The Holy Book teaches us to always rejoice, and it gives us hope that God is the planner of everything, so we dont need to worry as our creator is still watching over us,” he noted. He then rooted for the prioritization of health, which he said is “costly, irreplaceable and the foundation of all achievements”. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, activities of worship have been affected in one way or the other because of different restrictions. Churches were urged to reduce their attendance capacities, and sometimes urged to gather virtually.
