Residents Of Cianjur Rayakan Christmas At The Church Front Tenda, Worship Taking Worship Without Sadness

The atmosphere of Christmas celebrations at a church in Cianjur. (Photo: Doc. BNPB)

JAKARTA - The earthquake in Cianjur, West Java, left a sad story that had an impression in memory. One month has passed, the expression of sadness is not visible today.

Christians flocked to welcome the joy of Christmas celebrations in Cianjur City. A big smile radiated from every congregation who attended the Christmas celebration at St. Peter's Church, Cianjur City, West Java, on Sunday, December 25.

A religious event was held using a tent set up in front of the church. You can see a large blue and white tent standing firmly in the front yard of the church entrance.

The choice of this location was due to the condition of the St. Peter's Church being severely damaged after the earthquake. In addition, the elimination of worship activities in the church is also to avoid trauma in the event of aftershocks that can disrupt the course of religious worship.

Security officers consisting of elements of the TNI-Polri were seen guarding the entrance. After the entrance, it appears that a number of committees conducted initial screening in the form of checking body temperature, giving hand sanitizers and distributing masks to congregations who did not bring them.

This is done in the context of implementing health protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without reducing the solemnity of the event, residents carry out all religious series solemnly.

The head of the Christmas Committee at the St. Peter's Church, Intan Simarmata, said that the residents were quite enthusiastic about Christmas celebrations in the midst of post-earthquake conditions.

"Malam 24 Desember sama pagi ini 25 Desember, sepertinya ada 700 warga yang hadir di sini, cukup enthusiastically meskipun situasi seperti ini, warga tetap sukara untuk bergabung merayakan Natal bersama," ujar Intan, dalam keterangan resmi BNPB, Minggu, 25 Desember.

The same thing was also expressed by Supri, one of the congregation of the Church of St. Peter, who admitted that he wanted to rise after the earthquake.

"I am very optimistic about the rise of cianjur, tolerance between religious communities in yesterday's emergency has also become proof that we can rise together," said Supri.

This activity is also expected to be a momentum for the revival of the citizens of cianjur with an attitude of tolerance among religious believers in dealing with post-earthquake situations.

As is known, the emergency response period has now shifted to a transitional period of recovery. BNPB also consistently continues to assist local governments in an emergency response period, recovery transition, to rehabilitation and reconstruction.