PRELIPCA, Romania — A church in Romania recently found a way to still gather together in the midst of the global coronavirus outbreak, standing outside and spaced feet apart, singing hymns of praise together.
A video, viewed thousands of times on Facebook, shows members of the Biserica Creștină după Evanghelie Sion (Christian Church After the Gospel of Zion) in the village of Prelipca, standing in the church parking lot singing the 1875 hymn “To God Be the Glory,” written by Fanny Crosby.
“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice!” they sang out in Romanian. “O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory! Great things He has done!”
The gathering took place on Thursday evening, according to a blog post from the church.
The members all stood feet apart from each other as they sang. A man standing on the steps of the church seemed to be leading the gathering.
Another video posted to YouTube by member David Regus likewise shows the church singing a song of praise together that evening.
“Even today I was thinking that in Prelipca there is a parking space for the assembly,” one viewer wrote. “God bless you!”
“And so we easily get out of buildings and realize that the Church has to be outside … Inside there are only ‘buildings,'” another remarked.
“Actually, the singing of that hymn was giving me goosebumps. So beautiful to hear,” a commenter posted. “How wonderful that God’s people gather to worship like this!”
“Amazing. In tears of joy,” a fourth wrote.
According to the latest figures, there are 433 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Romania and three deaths. The current American tally is 32,783 with 416 deaths.
Worldwide, there are more than 336K cases. 14.6K have died from the virus.
Psalm 62:8 exhorts, “Trust in Him at all times, ye people. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. Selah.”