SHILLONG, Nov 17: Exactly one year ago, on November 17, the century-old Church of God at Qualapatty was razed to the ground in a devastating fire that also claimed the lives of an elderly couple. On the first anniversary of that incident, Church leaders have resolved to renew their quest to rebuild the Church which was stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Pastor of Church of God and also the secretary of the Building Committee, Rulerald Imiong said the process to rebuild the Church will be taken up at the earliest.
“We were determined to rebuild the Church and had even formed the Building Committee and also selected an architect. We had earmarked expenditure of Rs 10 crore but due to COVID-19, we were unable to make any headway,” he said.
He recalled that on November 18 last year, the Church leaders held a meeting to rebuild the Church. He also recalled the encouragement received from other Churches through prayers and contributions.
Imiong informed that the Church members held a prayer meeting at 7:30 am on Tuesday at the site to seek God’s guidance in rebuilding the Church. He said that a meeting of the Building Committee was scheduled where a decision to speed up the processes to rebuild the Church would be taken.
“I take the opportunity to thank everyone who that had been with us at a time when we lost the Church building to fire. They had come to pray along with us and had also made contributions. We pray that they too receive blessings from God in all aspects”, he said.
On how the services were held during the pandemic, Imiong said services were held in the homes of the believers.
The plan of the Church to hold services at the JJM Memorial Hall and the Basketball court was kept on hold due to the pandemic.
The services are being held in the homes of the believers. The programme is arranged by the Secretary and Chairman of the Church and issued to the respective secretaries of cottage services under Church of God, Qualapatty which caters to the localities of Qualapatty, Riatsamthiah, Mawprem and Jaiaw.
The programmes schedule is then distributed among the believers who follow the schedule including the songs, sermons and prayer points. An audio sermon of the Pastors is sent through WhatsApp for services at 10 am every Sunday.
“The procedure went on till November 15 but this coming Sunday we have decided that we will come back to the hall and assemble together and strictly follow protocols. We will have Church services thrice – in Qualapatty, Riatsamthiah and Jaiaw. For the congregation in Mawprem, it will be held twice at 10 am and again at 1:30 pm”, he said.
With the COVID-19 pandemic sending the people in financial crisis, Imiong said that the Church activities are affected as its believers are financially constrained.
“When believers are blessed they bring it to the Church. We believe that the fund of Church is in the hands of believers,” he added.