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It was probably for the first time since Christianity dawned on Naga soil that churches across Nagaland wore a deserted look on a Palm Sunday. As the believers were encouraged to observe the holy day with their family members at their respective homes because of the ongoing nationwide lockdown in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, churches remained empty on Sunday.<\/p>\n
However, the lockdown did not dampen the spirits of believers as they found ways to celebrate the beginning of the Holy Week. Many decorated their homes with palm leaves and organised special services and held feasts with their family members.<\/p>\n
Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, commemorates the triumphant entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem before his crucifixion. Christians across the world celebrate the day by carrying out processions, organising special services and distributing palm leaves.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Nagaland Post, Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) general secretary Rev Zelhou Keyho clarified that the council did not issue any directive to Baptist churches across the State regarding to observance of Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. However, though no formal church services were held to mark the occasion to adhere to the social distancing norm, he said it was left to the wisdom of the churches how best to observe the special occasions under the present circumstances.<\/p>\n
On the occasion of Palm Sunday, Keyho remarked that though Palm Sunday was an important day in the Christian calendar, believers were unable to come together for community worshipping this time for “our own good and protect ourselves” from COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n
He however said the good news was that Christians could still worship, have meaningful family prayer time and listen to the words proclaimed through live-streaming by the pastors. He said Christians in such times should not lose heart because true worship and celebration, which “our Almighty God desires from us comes from the heart”.<\/p>\n
Explaining the significance of Palm Sunday that signifies victory, triumph, peace and salvation, Keyho called upon all Christians to pray that God would calm “our” troubled hearts and impart His peace and continue to protect “us and give us victory over our fear”. He urged the believers during this uncertain moment to cry to God to save them from the attack of coronavirus and restore normal life once again. He also asked them to pray that God establishes His Kingdom in such a situation and calm this unprecedented storm in the history of mankind.<\/p>\n
While the churches remained empty, many church leaders opted to reach out to their members through the help of modern technology and encouraged members to hold “devotional services” at their respective homes with their families.<\/p>\n
Some churches resorted to live streaming on popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, while others utilised steaming option available on YouTube. <\/p>\n
Some churches reached out to their members by circulating Palm Sunday sermons through popular messaging app Whatsapp, while others played sermons on loud speakers.<\/p>\n
“I am sad that unlike in the past I could not go to church today, but I had a wonderful time observing the special day with my family this morning. It was a special moment for us,” remarked Diana Sekhose.<\/p>\n
A local church leader said it was a difficult time for the churches and believers, but stressed that it was important for all to keep the faith alive through constant prayer and fellowship with God.<\/p>\n
Alo Kenny, who is a Sunday school teacher, said, “Instead of lamenting over our inability to go to the church, every follower of Christ must build a church within him or her. Physical church is worthless if the church inside us is not filled by the spirit of God.”<\/p>\n
With the nationwide lockdown likely to end on April 14, Christians across the State and country will be spending the ensuing Good Friday and Easter Sunday indoors.<\/p>\n
The empty church pews will bear a stark resemblance to the empty tombs this Good Friday. However, believers remain hopeful to celebrate the joyous resurrection of Christ in their respective churches next year.<\/p>\n
Palm Sunday observed without Church service<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[679],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-nagaland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213054\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}