By Nehru Odeh
That the novel coronavirus has taken its toll on every aspect of human life, including churches is no news. But what is news is that clergymen are under no Illusion that it has affected the titles and offerings they receive and are going about it unabashedly, finding ways out of it.
Recently the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, as reported by Nairobi Times, cried out that they have lost over 8 billion shillings since the government closed down churches in the East African country.
Speaking at a press conference, the Bishops appealed to government to consider men of God who are feed on tithes and offerings to open the churches.
“The church revenue continues to dwindle due to closure of churches, mosques, synagogues and all kinds of public gathering announced by the government. The government should consider the act that we have families to feed and bills to pay,” they said.
Government suspended public gatherings in Kenya after the first case of the novel coronavirus was detected in the country. Health Commissioner, Mutahi Kagwe, ordered that the suspension take immediate effect as a way of preventing further spread of the virus. And Christians across the country had no option but adhere to the directive.
Majority of Kenyans are Christians, and they attend churches on Saturdays and Sundays, while Muslims attend Jumat service on Fridays.
This directive has also affected wedding ceremonies across Kenya as they have been put on hold.