Newday Church on reopening their church

Edenvale’s Newday Church elder and pastor Julius Mullinder spoke about how involved and complicated reopening their building for meetings was after churches were recently permitted to gather under prescribed restrictions.
Most congregations decided not to reopen their doors after the presidential invite and Newday Edenvale was one of them.

Also read: World Health Organisation updates guidelines on wearing masks

Mullinder said it is a lot more than just opening the doors, wearing masks and spraying sanitiser all over the place.
“As the eldership team, we will be working through the implications of resuming meetings and ministries over the next days, and will communicate them to you as soon as we can.”

“We want to take responsible, measured, wise and faith-filled decisions moving forward.”

The pastor said Newday Church has found creative ways to worship, pray, encourage, witness, disciple and serve to minimise the risk of the Covid-19 transmission.
“We’ve gone online, moved our small groups to online video chats, and found new ways to love our neighbours.
“We are the real church, not our buildings.”

The elder shared variables they have considered regarding the virus.
He said they are aware that:
1.The virus can be transmitted before a person develops symptoms.
2.Not every infected person will infect another person.
3. Older people are more susceptible to contracting Covid-19, and children are less likely to display symptoms, intergenerational so contact should be minimised to avoid transmission.
4. Younger adults with common chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes and autoimmune disease have an increased risk of serious complications as well.

Also read: Blueprints for Covid-19 testing and treatment hospital ready and waiting

“The Great Commandment states that we should love our neighbours as ourselves.
“The way we express love for our neighbours is to protect them from getting infected,” said Mullinder.
The elder shared the effects of Covid-19 on the church.
“Some of our congregation feel vulnerable and choose to self-isolate; some will do this out of concern for others.
“Some feel rejection or alienation because of the government’s structure concerning the aged, vulnerable and persons at-risk.
“Others, feel the lack of community, fellowship and support to be a part of gatherings in whatever form,” said the elder.

“We are aware that the church, like the workplace, schools, and shopping centres, is a high-risk setting for transmission.

“Therefore, we will be exploring Sunday meetings, training meetings, growth group settings, prayer meetings, counselling needs and the ongoing ministry towards the poor and needy.”

The pastor added they grieve their inability to meet in person with the church community, and they do desire to meet again.
“We do not want to help spread the virus but to help contain it while attending to the spiritual and material needs of those we can assist.
“It’s important to remember that the church never actually closed, just the doors to our facilities.”
Mullinder acknowledged the country has entered a phase of loosened restrictions.

He said they are faced with difficult decisions as a church like how and when to resume live, in-person ministry, and how to conduct these ministries safely.
“We must not feel pressured to rush things while considering the needs of our congregation and community.
“We have a responsibility towards the vulnerable and the aged, we need to demonstrate the love of God towards them properly and wisely.”
As the church eldership looked ahead towards gathering again, they said they need to do so wisely.
Mullinder’s message to the community was the pandemic will pass.
“We want to look back one day and be assured that the Lord led our steps along the way.”
Mullinder said they are appreciative and thankful that President Ramaphosa and his team have seen the value of faith-based communities in the country and are mindful of the needed role they all play.

Dear reader,

As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.