SINGAPORE - Churches across Singapore conducted Easter Sunday (April 12) services online in view of stringent distancing measures in force islandwide to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
The Heart of God, City Harvest and New Creation churches earlier announced on their websites that Easter Sunday services would be conducted through livestreams and pre-recorded sermons.
The Heart of God Church conducted both a main Easter service as well as a youth Easter service through its website, followed by online activities, videos and podcasts to help engage young congregants and encourage them to stay home.
More than 10,000 people tuned in for the church's Easter services.
Senior Pastor Tan Seow How from the church urged congregants to stay home and stay safe.
"This Easter, we are apart but not alone. Like our own home, a church is about who, and not where. As long as our loved ones and Jesus are with us, we can still have an exceptional Easter," he said.
Congregants of City Harvest Church joined its 10am service on channels including YouTube and Facebook.
Various Methodist churches held services in various languages including Tamil, Mandarin and Hokkien, at different timings.
St Andrew's Cathedral streamed its Easter dawn service at 6am on Sunday with Bishop Rennis Ponniah, through its YouTube channel.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore posted an Easter message from Archbishop William Goh to its website.
In his address, Archbishop Goh urged parishioners to keep the faith and use this time to strengthen family unity.
"Let us exercise patience and sensitivity to the needs and safety of fellow parishioners and the community at large," he said.
Churches across Singapore conducted similar services for their congregants to mark Good Friday.
The Government's circuit breaker measures have seen the closing of schools and workplaces till May 4. Residents have been advised to limit social interaction to their own households and stay home as far as possible, as the authorities continue contact tracing activities and investigate infection clusters.
As of Saturday, there were 2,299 confirmed cases and eight deaths related to Covid-19 in Singapore.
