Pastor Robert Kayanja (L), Rabbi Kirt Schneider (R).
A 12-hour prayer event has been planned in Uganda as multitudes in Israel and elsewhere around the world, mark the Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur, Thursday.
It’s considered the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, and comes 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
On Tuesday, Robert Kayanja, the senior Pastor of Miracle Centre Cathedral – Rubaga, explained that the virtual prayer event will be graced by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at the State House in Entebbe.
Additionally, Rabbi Kirt Schneider, the host of popular television program, Discovering the Jewish Jesus, will grace the event live from Israel.
“On Thursday, September 16th 2021, we shall be observing the World Day of Prayer from 6:00 am – 6:00 pm EAT. We will be praying all day as the Jewish people observe the Day of Atonement. Join us on Channel 44 and on all our social media platforms,” he wrote.
Yom Kippur is traditionally considered the date on which Moses returned from Mount Sinai after forty-days of praying for the sins of the Israelites to be forgiven. On his return, the Israelites were granted atonement for the sin of worshipping the Golden Calf.
Reports show that the central theme of Yom Kippur is atonement and reconciliation. Eating, drinking, bathing, using cosmetics, wearing leather shoes, and conjugal relations are all prohibited. It is a custom is to wear white on the holiday as a symbol of purity.
In Israel, it is a legal holiday. There will be no form of media communication, no public transport and all shops and businesses are closed, sources say.
This year the nation’s Health Ministry recommended that prayers be held outdoors due to the grip of a fourth wave of coronavirus.
Israel has has recorded over 1.1 million cases and 7,438 deaths since the start of the pandemic last year. It rolled out a COVID-19 booster shot campaign last month and already nearly 3 million Israelis have received a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
