PGI Welcomes Luhut's Direction For The Church To Limit 50 Congregations For Christmas Services

Luhut Pandjaitan (VOI)

JAKARTA - The Association of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) welcomes the appeal of the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPC PEN) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan who asked the church to limit the number of attendees to 50 people when holding a Christmas service.

PGI General Chairman Gomar Gultom said that his party appreciated the appeal because currently the church understands that maintaining distance is a necessary thing to do.

"I welcome Pak Luhut's appeal to limit the number of worship services in the Christmas celebration to only 50 people. The discipline to maintain distance is currently a call of faith to save life together," said Gomar when contacted by VOI, Friday, December 18.

PGI continued Gomar at this time also issued an appeal to the church to hold Christmas celebrations online or virtual. "So that everyone can participate solemnly with their respective families," he said.

A similar statement was also conveyed by an appeal letter number 584 / PGI-XVII / 2020 signed by the General Chairperson of PGI Gomar Gultom and General Secretary Jacklevyn F Manuputty. PGI argued that worship at home had to be done because until now the epidemiological curve had not shown any signs that Indonesia was at the peak of the pandemic and the trend of increasing positive cases of COVID-19 continued.

In addition to appealing to celebrate Christmas at home, PGI also appealed to the church not to organize community gatherings including church trials and replace them online.

It is known, in a coordination meeting to control COVID-19, Luhut asked churches that wish to celebrate Christmas activities physically and face-to-face to limit their capacity. The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment considered that restrictions were necessary to prevent transmission in the community.

"My suggestion is that Christmas at church is like now. Fifty people just use distance. This is a humanitarian problem, if it is not strict, it will increase and the religious celebration will be severe," said Luhut, Tuesday, December 15.

Apart from the church, Luhut also pays attention to the New Year's Eve celebrations. He said that New Year celebrations should be eliminated and prohibited in entertainment venues, shopping centers, and places of worship.

"There is no new year's eve. Anyway, there is no crowd. I ask all governors, please, no new year's eve," he said.

Even so, he did not prohibit people from gathering. However, the number should not be more than 30 people and when gathered, they must be able to maintain a distance and comply with health protocols.