• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us

For all official information and updates regarding COVID-19, visit the South African Department of Health's website at www.sacoronavirus.co.za

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
Home Coronavirus

Availability of COVID-19 vaccines a sign of hope, says Bishop Malinga

4 April 2021, 6:15 PM  |
Mercedes Besent Mercedes Besent |  @SABCNews
So far, 269 102 healthcare workers have been vaccinated the country prepares for the second phase  of the programme.

So far, 269 102 healthcare workers have been vaccinated the country prepares for the second phase  of the programme.

Image: Reuters

So far, 269 102 healthcare workers have been vaccinated the country prepares for the second phase  of the programme.

The Presiding Officer of the Methodist Church, Bishop Purity Malinga, says the availability of vaccines against the coronavirus is a sign of hope and one of the good news stories to tell this Easter. Bishop Malinga was delivering the sermon during a virtual Easter Sunday Service broadcast on SABC 2, hosted by the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and its member churches.

She stressed that vaccination should not be discriminatory.

The Bishop says despite all the darkness the country is faced with, there is hope.

“We have seen the darkness of corruption, Gender-Based Violence, poverty, hunger; the list goes on. While it is still dark friends. As Easter people, we do not despair; we do not lose hope. Rather we lift up the signs of hope as we see because Jesus is alive. We find courage in lifting up any sign of hope that we see. It is because of the good news of Easter that we lift up vaccination as a sign of hope, calling for it to be made available to all; whether they are rich or poor,” she says.

The Vice President of the South African Council of Churches, Reverend Frank Chikane, gave recognition to frontline healthcare workers who put their lives at risk to save the lives of COVID-19 patients. He was delivering the Benediction and gave concluding remarks at the service.

“Our frontline workers risked their lives daily to safe our lives. But one thing is certain that God we believe in is a God who’s always present with us. He was forsaken on the Cross so that we never get forsaken. Jesus is Emmanuel,- that is God with us.

Our God is also an all knowing God,- an omniscient God. God knows what we are going through and knows how to make up for our loss. God knows how to heal us from the ravages of life and the coronavirus. Our God is all powerful and he is able to save us and be with us under difficult circumstances,” Chikane said.

Also speaking at the event, SACC Secretary General, Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, said the last year was a year of helplessness against the coronavirus. Bishop Mpumlwana says Easter brings hope despite the challenges the country is facing due to the pandemic.

“Praise be to the God and father to our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is to that hope that we come this morning. We have come through a year of grief, anxiety, of fear and distress, year of exasperation and a sense of helplessness against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In faith on Good Friday, we consciously mounted these troubles on the cross of the crucified Christ. This morning we come to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord with restored faith and confidence of the power of live over death,” he said.

Concerns over slow vaccine rollout

Speaking during the Easter Vigil Service, which was held at St George’s Cathedral, in Cape Town, Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba raised concern over the government’s slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout programme, especially in poor and marginalised communities.

Discussion on SA’s vaccination process with Prof Tulio de Oliveira: 

Makgoba says he is skeptical about how long it will take to administer vaccines across the country.

“We know very well that there are large areas of our country where political corruption has poisoned public healthcare systems. Shame on those who have left hospitals and clinics short of people, equipment and protection. I have read that on the current strategy it would take 18-years to vaccinate our entire present population! We cannot allow that to happen,” he added.

So far, 269 102 healthcare workers have been vaccinated the country prepares for the second phase  of the programme.

Share article
Tags: Methodist ChurchVaccineBishop Purity Malinga
Previous Post

58-year-old man robbed and killed after driving over spikes on R556

Next Post

Family concerned as Sol Plaatie’s grave is vandalised again

Related Posts

Models present creations by designer Hedi Slimane as part of his Spring/Summer 2023 Menswear collection show for fashion house Celine during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France June 26, 2022.

Celine closes Paris Fashion Week with bare-chested models and dazzling blazers

28 June 2022, 1:06 AM
Revellers dance as Diana Ross headlines the Pyramid stage at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival in Britain, June 26, 2022.

Diana Ross spreads the love at Glastonbury

27 June 2022, 1:19 AM
The iconic streets of Bo-Kaap in Cape Town.

Cape Town’s open-air dining events revive social life and businesses

26 June 2022, 3:42 PM

La Traviata Ballet returns to the Joburg Theatre

26 June 2022, 2:11 PM
Muvhango

Muvhango the most viewed soapie on SABC 2: Makubyane

26 June 2022, 1:19 PM
The Congolese asylum seeker built his academic career through the little earnings he used to collect as a car guard

A Congolese asylum seeker works as a car guard to pursue academic success

26 June 2022, 11:57 AM
Next Post
Sol Plaatje was buried at Kimberley's West End Cemetery in 1932.

Family concerned as Sol Plaatie’s grave is vandalised again

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • EMS says fire at Bree Street Taxi Rank in Johannesburg has been extinguished
  • The public has until 18 May to make submissions on Icasa’s regulations for extension of expiry period for data, airtime
  • ANC NEC expected to hold a special meeting on Sunday
  • Eastern Cape flood victims plead for support as access to food, services remains difficult
  • Amathole Regional Secretary elated to have corruption charges against him dropped
  • East London police search for clues that led to tavern death; calls to revoke tavern’s licence 
  • UPDATE: At least 17 people killed in an East London tavern stampede
  • South Africans no longer required to wear face masks indoors
  • E Cape Liquor Board says Enyobeni tavern owner will face criminal charges
  • Zulu Royal Palace abuzz as King Misuzulu’s cleansing ceremony continues
  • East London police search for clues that led to tavern death; calls to revoke tavern’s licence 
  • UPDATE: At least 17 people killed in an East London tavern stampede
  • Mosimane alleges sabotage from CAF President Patrice Motsepe
  • SANTACO and NTA calls on COSATU to join the national shutdown over the hiking fuel prices
  • NTA yet to decide whether to support calls for national shutdown amid fuel price hikes

LATEST

[File Image] Farm workers busy at work.
  • Business

Farmers worried rain will negatively affect their output harvesting season


Cocaine is displayed to journalists after being seized by Guinea-Bissau's judicial police in the capital Bissau, March 21, 2012.
  • Africa

Drug use high in West and Central Africa, trafficking funds conflict: UN


Workers pressure wash the logo of NASA on the Vehicle Assembly Building before SpaceX will send two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station aboard its Falcon 9 rocket, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, May 19, 2020.
  • Sci-tech

NASA to launch first rocket from a commercial spaceport in Australia


[File Image] A charred car is seen in front of an apartment building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 30, 2022.
  • World
  • Russia, Ukraine conflict

‘At least 13 killed in Russian missile strike on shopping mall’


Former FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke leaves the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (Bundesstrafgericht) in Bellinzona, Switzerland, September 14, 2020.
  • Sport

Ex-FIFA exec Valcke to appeal bribery conviction


Models present creations by designer Hedi Slimane as part of his Spring/Summer 2023 Menswear collection show for fashion house Celine during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France June 26, 2022.
  • Lifestyle

Celine closes Paris Fashion Week with bare-chested models and dazzling blazers


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2022

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2022

Previous 58-year-old man robbed and killed after driving over spikes on R556
Next Family concerned as Sol Plaatie’s grave is vandalised again