Some Anshan churches in China’s north-eastern Liaoning Province announced the reopening of in-person services in late August.
These churches carried out measures to protect their congregation during the service, according to a notice from the Anshan Command Center for COVID-19 Control and Prevention issued by Anshan Daily on August 25.
To safely resume the face-to-face gatherings, churches proceeded to delegate the responsibilities of each group, distribute tasks to each person, and prepare the temperature measurement devices, masks, disinfectant liquid, and the isolation room.
On Sundays, pastors and staff workers arrived early to receive believers in accordance with the procedures, as well as appeasing and persuading some believers not to enter the venue who could not provide relevant certificates.
Besides the churches’ disinfection and sanitation, fellow workers also checked churchgoers’ temperature, travel history codes, and COVID-19 vaccine certificates. Those who were unvaccinated due to special circumstances such as illness failed to enter the church.
Since the number of worshipers should not exceed 50% of the church’s capacity, believers were also required to wear masks and sit at a social distance.
In this first Sunday Service after the services were resumed, to avoid breaching the required limit of attendees, the congregation attended the service in separate groups, as they were notified in the church’s WeChat group. Believers who could not enter the church were requested to attend the online ones.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
