Cleric backs Lagos over suspension of church reopening

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Cleric backs Lagos over suspension of church reopening

Reopening of churches and mosques now poses serious threats to the lives of Lagos residents and will jeopardise public health, a cleric has declared.

Senior Pastor of Praise Arena, Kingdom Light Christian Centre, Lekki, Lagos, Dr Jummy Adetoyese-Olagunju, said this while declaring support for the suspension of the reopening of religious centres by the Lagos State government.

Reacting to the indefinite suspension, Dr Adetoyese-Olagunju said that the initial order for the reopening was of great concern to him and some church leaders, as the COVID-19 infections keep increasing daily, especially in Lagos.

“Opening religious centres at a time we have such an increase in Lagos is like walking into COVID-19 death trap and no church leader will be happy to see their members dead when the pandemic is eventually over. In Africa, we are socially connected based on our culture. Hence, you can’t sustain too much social distance in the churches for too long because of the sense of divine security,” he said.

He charged church leaders to go digital by exploring the possibility of using social media for their services, which is also an opportunity for the church talking over the air waves.

“In our church, our online services on Facebook moved from 250 view to more than 30,000 views and 8,000 ThruPlays when we explored ways to reach wider audience across the country. Necessity is the mother of inventions.

“Although not having the traditional services affected church finances, we are happy that more people are able to hear the transforming messages through wider outreach via online services, which is the essence of the great commission,” he said.