Congregation and Covid-19 : A historic church and strength in community

For Victor, absence of church-goers amid pandemic has been a reminder of traumas she’d been endeavouring to forget

PESHAWAR:

As Christmas draws closer, the giant halls of once abuzz All Saints Church in the heart of the walled city of Peshawar, lay empty holding dear the glorious memories of past. Where this time around last year, there would have been celebrators readying the Church for the day of Christ, the ghost of Covid-19 today, has replaced the merry hymns and buntings of yesteryear with little but deafening silence.

Although this is not the first time the historic church has been testament to the curse of time. In its centuries-old existence, it has seen many ups and downs through many regimes, yet always opening its doors until the Christ’s people come home. Built in 1833, in the style of a saracenic mosque with minarets, a dome and a beautiful, white facade, All Saint’s is a parish of the Church of Pakistan. Unfortunately however, it was also the site of the September 2013 carnage, which came to be known as one of the country’s deadliest terrorist attacks on minorities. In the aftermath of which, the church had to suspend all its religious activities.

Though All Saints eventually opened its doors and resumed service in better times, the congregations were short-lived. Following the rise of the pandemic, the centuries-old church has once again been left longing for bustling masses, quires and communal gatherings.

Revisiting trauma

For 29-year old Azika Victor, whose parents were among the 81 victims of the 2013 massacre at All Saints’, the church’s suspension of service amid Covid-19, was a traumatic experience. Though some wounds never heal, in the years following the attack, the church’s return to normalcy had given Victor hope for better times. “But when I saw the church empty again, doors shut and services suspended, it felt like I had once again been thrown through the same turmoil I witnessed seven years ago. The silence that replaced the hustle and bustle of the church reminded me of everything which I had endeavored so hard to forget,” Victor lamented.

Following the passing of her parents, the 29-year old had found the strength she needed to move on, in the form of community and service to god. To Victor, she was now a daughter of the All Saints’ Church; taking its people and clergy as her family. She would visit as often as she could, or at least every Sunday, to spend some moments of calm with those closest to her heart.

“It is what brought me peace, seeing my community, its strength and compassion. But now that I go to the church, I find its emptiness haunting. My eyes keep gawking at the giant clock tower and it feels like time’s standing still in the same hour that took away my parents from me,” Victor recalled. “The second wave of Covid-19 has added salt to my injuries and tried to prevent me from finding meaning in life. But I am determined to come to church for worship and I am certain things will get better for me and everyone else in the embrace of All Saints’,” she added.

Speaking about church operations, All Saints’ in-charge Pastor Shehzad Murad said that although Covid-19 has significantly affected in-person attendance at the church, much of their routine congregations have been shifted online. “All Saints’ may have seen tragedy and turmoil, but we have never bowed down in the face of adversity. The number of people coming to the church is definitely low, especially women and children, in view of the pandemic. But we have all SOPs in place and are committed to the fight against Covid-19 for the wellbeing of all humanity.”

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2020.