Worried by the increased spread of the Coronavirus all over the World, the Vice Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Benue State Chapter, Bishop Mike Angou has appealed to
Christian faithful in Nigeria and those in Benue state, to respect the rules and regulations given by government authorities while observing this year’s Easter celebrations.
The Clergy, who made this call while speaking with the Next Edition in his office in Makurdi, said it was necessary for the people to celebrate in wisdom, knowledge and understanding, showing love to one another and cooperating with government authorities as part of their contribution and support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bishop Angou recalled that he had told Christians, this time, last year that Easter is even more potent than Christmas because of what Jesus Christ did for humanity saying “But times are different now and each time a situation comes that is different, we must also choose a different way to handle it. We can’t handle it as normal.
“Easter is a very important season for all Christians and we are saying that in this time of Easter that we have the COVID-19 pandemic spreading fast, we should use wisdom.
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“We need knowledge also but we should move from knowledge to wisdom and from wisdom to understanding that the spread of this disease is so fast that if we don’t take time and it comes to what we cannot handle, hundreds of people will die.
“So we are appealing to the Christian faithful that they should hold their Easter services in their houses. The Bible said wherever two or three are gathered in His name, He is there. He also said we must have a deeper understanding that the church is not the four walls. We are the church, we are written epistles. So, everywhere we go, the presence of God is there and miracles can happen there,” he said.
Angou who is also the State Chairman of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), expressed the belief that “If we do this at our season, our Muslim brothers will also learn a lesson that anytime something comes, whether it is also their season, they will also cooperate with us and be on the same page so we can have peace for progress of the state.”
Bishop Angou cited Roman Chapter 13: 1and 2 which admonished all Christians to obey the government of the day pointing out that “If God has permitted them to be there, and if they do things for the generality of the whole populace, we should stand by them.
According to him, “God has given us the spirit of power and we can talk power, to kill the Coronavirus and further show love and understanding to celebrate our Easter on a low level. No high celebrations. Whatever we do, the social distancing must be kept and observed”.