CCAP Synod holds special prayers
Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Sunday held special prayers asking mercy from God so that coronavirus (Covid-19) does not affect Malawi.
At St Andrews CCAP in Mzuzu, prayers started with a special prayer asking for God’s mercy on his people amid the Covid-19 scare.
Director of Health Services in the synod, Mphatso Ngulube, emphasised the need for people to wash hands regularly with soap and stop handshakes and hugs, among others.
“We have written a letter to all presbyteries, schools and institutions on how they can prevent the disease,” she said.
The synod’s general secretary, Reverend Levi Nyondo, said people should strictly adhere to precautionary health measures as laid down by World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Worship will continue, but what we have done is to promote sectional prayers so that instead of being full here [at the church], people can be gathering in all sections in towns and locations for worship. So, we want in those gatherings that people should emphasise the coronavirus prayer,” he said.
Through the synod’s health department, the church has put in place contingent measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in an event that it comes to country.
Other churches in Mzuzu have also come up with preventive interventions such as praying in sections.
At St Augustine Catholic Parish, for example, the church will be inviting health experts to share health tips on prevention of Covid-19, the respiratory disease that was first detected in Wuhan Province in China.
Congregants are being discouraged from following social media reports on the pandemic because “there are some posts that are misleading”.
The Catholic Church has further said people should not panic but trust God who it says has kept them through other outbreaks such as Ebola and swine flu.
On Friday, President Peter Mutharika declared Malawi a state of disaster and made a number of orders including closure of public and private schools by today.
According to the WHO dashboard, Covid-19 has claimed over 11,201 lives globally as of Sunday.
