A group of 70 pastors attached to evangelical Christian denominations in Ireland have written to their government warning of severe consequences if their churches are not opened up.
The letter, sent to Taoiseach Micheál Martin and all TDs, says the continuing closure of places of worship is ‘counterproductive during a season when people desperately need the hope and community that so many find in church life and public worship’.
Pastor John Ahern of the All Nations Church in Dublin said he is aware of seven suicides in the last week among friends and acquaintances. He said the ‘obsessive focus on simply Covid numbers is not dealing with the collateral damage we are seeing with society in terms of our mental health. We broadcast online, but it is no substitute to doing what Christians have done for the last 2,000 years, which is to meet and worship.’
