To defeat Covid-19, we’ve to outpace it

In the simplest of words, “nothing changes if nothing changes”. If we want to reduce the rate of transmission of Covid-19, something has to change. If we want a different result, then we have to change the old way of doing things.

We may not achieve much if we do not go a step ahead of Covid-19. We should outpace and outsmart it in order to beat it.  

And how do we do that? We should find innovative ways of beating this pandemic.

The guidelines by the Interfaith Council are just the first step. Predictably, places of worship will encounter unique challenges and they will need to implement these guidelines in ways that suit their respective environments.

If the building structure at your place of worship is small, then hold the service outside, and if your grounds are also small, then hold your worship at a different venue or on open grounds or in a park or in a playing field. Hold smaller worship sessions through the week as opposed to congregating all the worshipers on a single day. Find a solution that works best for you. 

Innovation at places of worship is nothing new. When I look at the churches today, and try to recall churches of 30 years ago, I see striking differences – I see overhead projectors, LCD close circuit screens, modern loud speakers, M-Pesa numbers, live coverage and live streaming. Innovation came to meet the needs.  

President Uhuru Kenyatta in his July 6 address stressed that we are now moving into the realm of individual self-regulation and community responsibility. Paraphrasing what WHO Executive Director said, it is up to us to now assess risks before, and make individual choices.  

Let us be motivated to adapt to new ways of doing things. People are calling it the “new normal” and yet one could say that if it is new, then it cannot be normal.

Whatever the case might be, there is no contention that we are in new territory. And this calls for a change of mindset. This calls for taking readjusting, readopting, “reimagining” according to the circumstances existing before us. We may have to break certain old moulds without loss of what is essential.  

I am always impressed when we call for innovation in business, in science, in education, in our jobs, and in almost all spheres of our lives. This is the same way we need to call for innovation in our places of worship. We are calling upon all places of worship to sit, discuss, debate and innovate on how best they will customise the guidelines to work best for them.

Key guidelines

Let us not bury our heads in the sand and complain about the guidelines and how difficult it will be to implement them. Let us also not deny the existence of the problem. 

Human history is rife with examples of how innovation fostered progress. Henry Ford, upon inventing the automobile said, “If I had asked the public what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” We have to get out of our comfort zones and think beyond the norm.

Let us focus our energy, not on fighting the laid out guidelines, but in exploring innovative solutions through which we can implement them.

Let us find ways of adapting ourselves to what the pandemic has presented to us while at the same time adapt the world to fulfill the needs of our society. It is interesting how they say that time changes things, whereas actually, most of the time we have to change things ourselves. The best way to drive change is to embrace it, and not fear it. 

We are operating under different circumstances, and it has to be clear for all to see that what we did yesterday certainly cannot be sufficient for today or for tomorrow.  

Let’s look for new methods of reaching the elderly and those homebound due to sicknesses. Let us use technology innovatively, let us place prayers as sanitisation points and let us discover new spaces where our prayers can push this enemy even an inch away.

 -The writer is Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nyeri, and chair of the Interfaith Council