Follow Up Statement on (COVID-19)
Following the Statement issued by His Excellency the President of Zimbabwe on March 17, 2020 declaring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic a National Disaster in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe West Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church hereby issues its support to this statement and would like to give the guidelines below to our church members. We encourage all our members to follow these guidelines and support them for our collective good.
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Sabbath Meetings
In line with government directives that gatherings of more than 100 people
are suspended henceforth for 60 days, churches are kindly advised to abide by this.- Further, where the number of people in attendance exceeds the stipulated number, the local church leadership (through a board action) should devise methods to break up the groups into numbers that are less than 100 (e.g. worshipping in cell groups, zones or sections).
- Provide two or three slots for services in the church (e.g. morning, midday, afternoon services) and have the church arranged into groups within the stipulated threshold of 100 individuals.
- Before, during and after each service adhere to hygiene standards.
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Tithes and Offerings
When applying the alternative measures for worship as indicated above, care should be taken and orderly procedures be put in place by all churches for the collection of tithes and offerings to ensure these funds are properly accounted for.
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Campaigns/Camp meetings/Camps/Conferences
We reiterate the statement given in (1) above, which is in line with the government directives on the COVID-19 pandemic. All meetings should not exceed 100 people. Where possible meetings should be postponed.
We continue to pray and trust in God fully. Sincerely,