The Provosts ‘Association, the Priests’ Association, the National Association of Parish Councils and the Danish bishops all recommend that services be canceled until 3 January.
This is stated by the associations in a press release on Wednesday evening.
Church Minister Joy Mogensen (S) acknowledges the associations’ recommendation.
– I support that, she writes on Facebook.
Earlier Wednesday evening, the Ministry of Church Affairs wrote that it recommended that you can hold a service safely if it does not last more than 30 minutes.
But that message came too late, according to church employees.
– It is with great regret that we can not recommend holding the services at Christmas until Holy Three Kings on Sunday 3 January, they write in the press release.
The associations write that it will still be possible to hold outdoor services, drive-in and virtual services.
But who really can cancel a service?
Sรธren Abildgaard, who is chairman of the National Association of Parish Councils, explains that it requires three parties to agree: the local parish council, the local priest and the bishop.
– The bishops have given consent for services to be canceled. So it kind of requires that there is agreement between the priest who has the services and the chairman of the opinion council, says Sรธren Abildgaard.
He also says that it is impossible for the churches to adapt the services to the new guidelines.
– Therefore, it is our recommendation that you cancel the Christmas services, he says.
The Christmas services have long been the subject of debate. This is because several employees of the Danish National Church have expressed concern about whether they could lead to further spread of infection with coronavirus.
Source: The Nordic Page