The Holy Convocation celebrated every year by the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a massive act of fellowship and worship and praise. It is almost impossible to imagine Convocation with public health precautions under the COVID-19, such as social distancing, especially when raising your voice in song or praise has been shown to spread the virus if one is infected. Church services and choir rehearsals have been identified by the CDC as super-spreader events.
So, it comes as a major disappointment but no surprise that COGIC officially cancelled its 2020 Holy Convocation scheduled for November 2-11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is only the second time that the Holy Convocation has been canceled. This would have been the 113th Holy Convocation.
“In lieu of convening face-to-face, please know that we are planning to have an online experience during the time of our annual Holy Convocation,” Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. stated in a release.
The annual Holy Convocation, held in St. Louis for the past 10 years, is the organization’s largest convention, drawing members and visitors from all 50 states and several countries from around the globe.
“Our annual Holy Convocation typically brings together more than 50,000 people in the month of November,” Bishop Blake stated. “However, there are still too many unanswered questions as to how this type of densely-populated church gathering can be accomplished while ensuring the safety of all convention attendees, first and foremost.”
COGIC is one of the oldest Pentecostal denominations in the country and the 4th largest Protestant group in the United States with 10,000 churches in over 112 countries worldwide and millions of adherents.
