Congregants pack churches for Good Friday services

Christians turned up in numbers on a rainy morning yesterday for Good Friday services in churches around Singapore after measures were eased last month to allow more people to attend religious services.

Ms Theresa Lee, 29, said she was excited about being able to join her church community on Good Friday, and was glad to see parishioners in masks pack the pews in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hougang.

Since March 29, Covid-19 safety measures have been relaxed, with the capacity limit of religious activities involving more than 1,000 people increased to 75 per cent of the venue's total capacity, up from 50 per cent previously.

Singing and chanting, which were previously not allowed, are now permitted with masks on.

"For our church, this Good Friday is extra special as we just managed to complete renovation that was stalled due to the pandemic," said Ms Lee, who works in the healthcare sector.

She added that being able to sing hymns in her church "feels like finally going home".

Parish priest Eugene Lee of the Church of St Alphonsus, or Novena Church, as it is known, also welcomed the return of hymn singing.

He said that following the eased measures, he has seen crowd numbers gradually swell over the past two Sundays.

"Pre-pandemic, we could have up to 2,500 people attend our services. The first Sunday after the measures were eased, there were around 500 people who attended mass, and there were about 950 last Sunday," he said.

The National Council of Churches of Singapore said in a statement that one of the priorities of churches now is to improve physical attendance at worship services.

"The council hopes that with the streamlined new measures implemented... more worshippers will venture out of their homes to resume congregational life, which is so essential for the spiritual well-being of the Christian community," the statement said.

A spokesman for New Creation Church said that it was looking forward to welcoming more of its members to in-person services tomorrow.

When The Straits Times visited the Church of St Anthony of Padua in Woodlands yesterday, worshippers shuffled in and took their seats ahead of the 9am Good Friday service.

The church, which has a 400-person capacity, had 351 worshippers young and old in attendance.

One of the parishioners there, Madam Joan Quek, 50, has been attending services online and in person over the past two years.

She said that the eased measures meant that she could see friends and other familiar faces.

"The church is about the community. Seeing everybody back at mass and being able to participate with everyone else touches our heart," said Madam Quek, a therapist.

For Madam C. J. Reynold, 38, who works in human resources, seeing fellow parishioners back in force was the closest thing to normality.

Having missed out on in-person services since the start of the pandemic in 2020, marketing manager Arnold Gonzales, 53, who has been a parishioner for 25 years, and his wife, Mrs Arlene Gonzales, 50, said that yesterday morning's service was a fulfilling experience.

Mrs Gonzales, who works in a bank, said: "Having the mass in church, there's interaction and you can feel the blessing of God. You can't get that online."