A cabinet meeting last week approved the reopening for service for churches, cathedrals, mosques and other places of worship. However, the government ordered that each must be vetted by local authorities against set health guidelines to ensure the reopening does not erode the gains made towards fighting the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. The New Times talked to faithful of different religions who started operating on Sunday, July 19 to capture their thoughts on how the coronavirus has impacted their relationship with God as well as how to cope with the new guidelines at their places of worship. Sabin Mutijima, a Christian from Kanombe Sabin Mutijima. “As a Christian, spending four months without gathering in churches is very disappointing. We really thank God for this day of reopening. Of course, we used to pray at home, but the bible requires us to respect holy gatherings. So, we really praise God and the government for reopening the temples of God” Valentine Mukankomeje, from Remera “You can’t understand the extent to which we are excited. It has been a long time, but after knowing that the government of unity has reopened churches, we were happy. We were thirsty of the word of God, that is why you can observe a bigger attendance, they are like, ‘we cannot miss the first service’,” Solange Akiba, from Kabeza Solange Akiba. “We have learnt a lot during the lockdown and we are happy that we shall be sharing praises again together as God’s family, so we are glad churches have reopened again”. Justine Mukashyaka, from Kimihurura Justine Mukashyaka. “I was happy to see my brothers in Christ again in the same spirit, praising and worshipping God. This day has been waited for, and you see that attendance is very high due to how people missed church services. In turn, we promise the government to respect the Covid-19 measures”. Marcellin Kamanzi, Pastor in Ndera Sector “We were ready to abide by the measures, we had all the handwashing equipment set up, social distancing practices implemented, and everything required to operate. So, we were waiting for this day and it is amazing to see how the government sees the needs of the population.” Marcellin Kamanzi. Joachim Ndagijimana, from Kimironoko “This is a decision that we are really glad of! This is a great lesson that we should not take church services for granted, rather it’s a good time for Christians to fellowship together, but they should not forget to respect measures put in place by the authorities.” Joachim Ndagijimana.
