Close bonds among parishioners during the pandemic

Publish Date: 25-Feb-2020

Bishop Andrew Chan of Western Kowloon shared his views with Echo about the suspension of public worships due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the setting up of a webcast to broadcast public worships. He said although he regretted that the House of Bishops had to arrive at such a decision in mid-February, he began to see the measure as a blessing when he worked with colleagues to deliver public worships via webcast.

“I know that as soon as the decision of the House of Bishops was announced, a lot of clerics and staff members started learning how to produce a webcast of worship services and the sharing of Sunday messages. For many who are unfamiliar with computer technology (myself included), this became quite a challenge. However, they overcame the difficulties and learned to overcome them. This is because they want their brothers and sisters to nurture their spirit through the words of God during the disease outbreak.

Bishop Chan also received words of encouragement from parishioners. Some of them even returned to the All Saints Cathedral despite the suspension of public worships and church group activities to see what they could do to help. These all made him realize the strength of the intangible bonds that held Christians together and the abundance of God’s grace. Although the public worships were suspended, they could see how close people are in spirit under the workings of the Holy Spirit.