Holding religious services in a church during the pandemic calls for putting in a new system and providing facilities that church goers must follow. The community of CSI St. Thomas Thamizh Church in San Thome has now put in place a system that follows state government regulations.
Only Sunday services are now held here since the church opened to the parish community in September.
And two services are held – at 7.30 am and at 10 am – which allows for families who live in the San Thome area to attend the first and the rest, to attend the 10 a.m. service.
“This arrangement helped us to have limited people inside the church and allows them to sit apart too,” says Ignatius Stephen, the secretary of the pastoral committee and a businessman who resides in San Thome.
Everybody who attends the service must sanitise their hands at the gate and get their body temperature checked; they must sit apart and wear a mask through the service. Even the pastor wears a mask. “If people forget to bring a mask we provide them one,” says Stephen.
Children and senior citizens have been asked not to attend the Sunday services and the communion part of the service is not held due to the strict regulations of the government.
Rev. D. Paul William is the pastor of this church which will celebrate its 162nd anniversary this month. Some 400 families from the San Thome – Mylapore – Alwarpet and Teynampet areas are members of this church.
Contact Stephen at 9384691011.
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