Anticipation for the reopening of churches has become a major concern for believers, as all local COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals around the country after the Spring festival.
According to the Gospel Times, some churches have gradually resumed in-person services since last week. On February 22, the Chengguan Church in Lianjiang County, Fujian Province, announced that it would restart weekly gatherings, group ministries and Sunday services as of that day. The subordinate meeting points would reopen from March 1st. The notice also reminded churchgoers to follow COVID-19 protocols while gathering, including wearing masks, registering their information, having temperature taken, showing the health code, and maintaining social distancing of at least 1.5 meters.
After suspending on-site gatherings on January 15, the Chengguan Church immediately began online services, broadcasting pre-recorded videos during online weekly gatherings and Sunday services, till the resumption of in-person worship. Nowadays, "the epidemic will soon end" is still one of the topics of the church's daily intercession prayer.
"Thanks for attending the first session since the resumption of in-person service for the New Year", was shared last Sunday on WeChat moments by a believer from Longgang Church, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, which had been broadcasting live service since February 1, following the suspension.
"We can go to church to worship God!", said a church staff from Huainan, Anhui, who also stated Wednesday that their church would reopen on March 7.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
