Author
Reference
Benard.,
L., (2015): How fanatical pastors in Kenya are risking
the safety of their Church Members and Neighbours Intel Fire Group of
Companies Blog. Nairobi, Kenya.
How fanatical pastors in Kenya are risking the safety of their
Church Members and Neighbours
A great
author once said “to malign the poor in the society give them hope and to
malign the rich in the society dominate them”. According to, Wikipedia an
online dictionary, the mainstream churches are a group of protestant churches
that are in contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist,
and charismatic protestant denominations. Eric Stetson the author of a 2008 book on Christian Universalism: God’s
Good News for All People and the founding executive director of the Christian Universalist Association,
brings this mainstream churches as the churches most of us grew in. Then there
are the fanatical churches that are currently growing in Kenya and there main
concentration is the gospel of prosperity and it can also be noted that they
rarely indulge in politics. But one thing is common for most of them, the
extremes of their church services with the church members standing for long
hours without breaks in between and the loud noises from their competing
speakers.
The
churches referred here as the fanatical churches in our current generation are
those that there services are marred by standing for too long by the members
and the noise levels within the church exceeding the levels of 90dB.
Standing for too long
The
fanatical churches mostly have one service charmed as the main service and the
only time the members will get to be on their sits will be when the pastors are
saying the last prayers and the general announcements. This standing can go as
a long as 6 hours during services in church and 8 hours when the church has
organized a crusade. Some witty pastors have also developed this standing
tradition as a gear towards performing healings that many of their church
members believe only happen when one falls down at the touch of their forehead
by the pastor. These pastors to some extent even forces a fall on their members
to prove how powerful they are but as it was written “Many will come in my name claiming ‘I am the messiah’ and they will deceive
many people (Matthew, 24:5).
Researchers
in the field of public health and safety have failed to appreciate the damage
standing causes by carrying out relevant researches on this field. And for a
church to be a subject of study in an African setting where the church is vilified
on the receiving end, then the said pastors will come out with all their bibles
(read guns) to defend every action
they take. Standing in essence during praise and worship is good for your inner
communication with your maker but when this is prolonged to prayers being
undertaken while standing then it possesses danger. Some will even argue that
the pastor is also standing but fail to understand that these are men who have
undergone training whether formal or informal including enduring long standing during
worships.
The
church must be awake to the safety issues that are related to standing for too
long. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) notes
that standing for too long is bad for health because of the strain on the lower
limbs that may results into problems which includes: hazardous pressure on hip,
knee and ankle joints; and damaged feet. The symptoms to people suffering from
long standing, according to medical professionals, will include lower limb
swelling, tiredness and discomfort. According to these professional the long
standing discomfort is usually caused by varicose veins and a condition known
as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) leading to the veins not being able to
send enough blood to the heart. If the heart is not able to pump enough blood
to the brain, this may lead to shock. Therefore a person falling down in the
middle of the service after standing for long does not necessarily mean that
the pastor has delivered the greatest word, but may be a shock. For church
members who have a coronary heart disease, standing for long hours in church
can make it worse.
Solutions to standing too long in church
The
responsibility of safety remains first and foremost with an individual and the
fanatical pastor however how much powerful plays the second field by ensuring
you are safe at their church. Therefore as a precaution and suggestion measures
it will be prudent, if you are a member of these churches, to take the following:
·
Have short sitting breaks for yourself during
the service immediately you start feeling a numb, tired feet.
·
Wear flat shoes when heading to church to
reduce the strain during long standing service.
·
In extreme cases, as church members bring up
the effect of long standing during church services in your informal discussions
and gatherings.
Noise Hazard in Church
The
fanatical churches in most instances in Kenya are trying to outdo each other by
trying to do bigger and better music (read discos) in what they refer to as
praising and worshiping using instruments. The loud musical instruments at
their disposal includes drums, organs, pianos, electronic keyboard, guitars,
electric guitars, drums, and other accompaniments that are heightened with
amplifiers and loud speakers. Most of these churches are based in estates and one
would rather move to town centres are they are more peaceful without the noisy
churches competing.
The Noise danger
The
Kenyan local newspaper, the Star, reported on October 09, 2014 that the
National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) confiscated equipment
belonging to several entertainment joints and was now targeting churches which
have sprawled up in estates in Embu town (A local town in Kenya) and are in
violation of the Noise and Excessive Vibrations Regulation which bars anybody
from making noise that exceeds 65dB during the day and 35dB during the night.
According to NEMA, the church noise which is usually above 65dB day and night
may results into effects which include lack of concentration, fatigue,
irritation, misunderstandings, decreased working capacity, disturbed
interpersonal relationships, and other long-term effects on health and safety.
Solution
As a
church whose members are the sole breadwinner, it is important for the pastors
in charge to ensure that the noise levels are within acceptable maximum range
and if operating within an estate, then your services should be carried out in
a noise probable level. Church noise is increasingly becoming a nuisance to not
only the church members but also their neighbours because of the loud music.
The use of high decibel musical instruments are said to be the main problem in
churches and to curb this the churches can use acoustical soundproofing products
to among other things reduce levels of church generated noise; reduce the sound
levels of music escaping outside the church, improve quality for the listener,
reduce background noise so that the congregation can hear the message clearly,
decrease echoes and provide higher quality sound when talking or having
conversations and lastly reduce noise complaints from the estate neighbours.
In
conclusion it should be noted that churches are the best places anyone can seek
help either with the make and/or with the members as it is a social
organization but it should also not be lost that the effects of noise and long
standing in these churches also poses danger not only to the church members but
also their neighbours.
The Author is a Research Generalist in Projects Management Specializing
in Safety Service Delivery
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