Amid Covid, church closure, Christians in Siliguri stay positive, hope for the best

CHRISTOPHER SHAJU, SNS, SILIGURI, 26 MAY 21 : As was the case with most people, the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic in March 2020 caught 23-year-old Mansi Thapa by surprise. She was in the final year of her graduation when the pandemic struck, leaving her with an unexpected void to fill. With classes called off and job prospects looking bleaker than ever before, she used the lockdown months to explore her faith and eventually decided to go back to church when they opened.

"I guess the pandemic gave me a good chance to catch up with Christianity. It helped me reconnect with God. It was a time of such uncertainty I suppose in a time such as that, it was important to find some hope or solace in what ever way possible. So I decided to start watching masses on YouTube. After a few weeks of that, I took the conscious decision to go back to attending masses whenever the churches opened," Ms Thapa, who lives in Bagdogra, says, looking back in hindsight. The pandemic has affected people in different ways. For the Christian community in Siliguri, it has had both positive and negative impacts across the age spectrum. However, faith, God and the Church continue to play a vital role in the lives of people and in the community here.

Other millennia's like Ms Thapa, who had stopped going to church, felt similarly encouraged by the pandemic to reassess their faith and their relationship with the church. Twenty-one-year old Peter Lepcha's story is similar to Ms Thapa's. As a Protestant, he used to go to church every Sunday when he was a child, but in his teenage years, his interest faded. The pandemic however, changed all that. "In such an unprecedented and uncertain time, I felt as though I really needed my faith once again, especially as a couple of my relatives had fallen ill. I started by reading the Bible and stated attending church online on Sundays. When the churches opened briefly before this current lockdown, I went for all the Sunday church services," says Mr Lepcha from the Shivmandir area.

For a lot of younger members of the Christian community, the pandemic seems to have had a largely positive impact on their faith. On the other side of the age spectrum, however, things are slightly different. Elsy George, 53, of Matigara, had been going to church on Sundays for as long as she could remember. "The pandemic has destabilized my weekly routine and my life a Christian completely. At a time when a lot of people are feeling isolated and alienated, regular Sunday masses would have been of such great comfort for me and so many others," she explains.

Whist there is an understanding on Mrs George's part of the need to keep churches closed during a pandemic, there is also a deep sense of disappointment at the same time amongst many at being denied the chance to seek comfort through the church.

"Online masses and church services cannot replace the real thing. Church is also about the sense of community and the sense of belonging. An online service cannot provide that experience," Mrs George explains. "It is also incomplete because it doesn't include the sacrament of the Holy Communion, which is the most important part of the Holy Mass," she adds.

With churches having to close once more, church income has also suffered yet another hit and the immediate future remains uncertain for churches in Siliguri. However, for priests like Fr John Tigga of the Matigara Parish, hope springs eternal. "I am optimistic that people will begin flooding back into churches once the situation improves. Many people attend my online masses one YouTube and give their feedback, which is very encouraging for me. The pandemic has helped further strengthen my faith," he says, even though the pandemic has prevented him from developing the parish the way he would have hoped.