Germany- and Switzerland-based Adventist Churches Discuss Easing Coronavirus Restrictions
21 April 2020 | Leaders of the Adventist Church in Germany and Switzerland are planning the gradual lifting of COVID-19 restrictions on congregations.
The APD (an Adventist news agency covering Germany and German-speaking Switzerland) reported that Evangelical leaders met with the German government on April 17 to discuss the lifting of a ban on religious gatherings in the country.
The Evangelical group known as Germany EKD proposed that religious gatherings be allowed to start soon after April 30.
The EKD stressed spiritual care for the sick and dying was a priority and that such services would need to resume in retirement homes and nursing stations.
The German government has expressed a commitment to gradually authorizing religious gatherings again in the country.
The Adventist Church in Germany has announced that Adventist events such as camps and other mass gatherings will not be held until August 31. Church leadership says that smaller congregational gatherings will remain canceled until further notice.
Switzerland’s ban on gatherings is due to be loosened on June 8. The country’s leaders spoke to the issue on April 16 but did not specifically address religious gatherings. Adventist leadership in Switzerland has started planning steps the denomination’s congregations will take to resume operations after June 8.