Coronavirus could drive online worship higher for Good Friday and Easter Sunday
Pastor Ray Johnston said more than 40,000 individuals and families logged on when Bayside Church live streamed services from its eight Northern California campuses last weekend as stay-at-home orders took hold throughout the state.
Online worship could hit new highs in the days ahead as churches across the region and around the world hold Holy Week services in the midst of a global pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom and California public health officials have prohibited gatherings in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but many churches are offering alternatives to traditional services as they prepare to observe Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Several Sacramento-area churches are planning to live stream their services on the internet. Here’s a partial guide to a virtual Easter:
Bayside Church
Bayside’s website invites members to “church from home” with online weekend services from its Adventure (Roseville), Blue Oaks, Davis, Folsom, Granite Bay, midtown and Santa Rosa locations.
People can connect with Bayside’s online services using the Bayside app on their phone, Apple TV or Roku. Services are also streamed live at baysideonline.com and on Facebook.
Times vary for Saturday and Sunday services. Visit baysideonline.com for more information.
Calvary Christian Center
Calvary Christian Center is a non-denominational Christian church with multiple locations, including Sacramento, Elk Grove and Loomis.
All church services are being held exclusively online at calvarychristian.com, where visitors will find an online worship tutorial. They are also streamed live on Facebook and YouTube. Those who don’t have internet access can listen live by calling toll free (667) 776-9151.
A Good Friday service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Easter Sunday services will be offered at 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament
The Diocese of Sacramento said all public masses have been suspended, but the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament was planning to live stream services on Easter Sunday and throughout the Sacred Triduum, the three days leading up to Easter. Services can be viewed on the church’s Facebook page.
Bishop Jaime Soto’s bilingual Holy Thursday mass is scheduled to be live streamed at 7 p.m. Good Friday services will be live streamed with Soto presiding in English at noon and Father Michael O’Reilly presiding in Spanish at 5 p.m. Soto will preside over a bilingual Holy Saturday mass at 8:30 p.m. Easter Sunday mass will be live streamed at 10 a.m. in English and 5 p.m. in Spanish.
St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church
All on-campus activities have been canceled until further notice, including ministry meetings, choir rehearsals and Bible studies, but Sunday services are available online at stpaulsac.org. The website features a COVID-19 update page that includes a video from the Centers for Disease Control explaining what older adults need to know about the coronavirus.
The Crossing Church
The Crossing Church will live stream a drive-in Easter celebration from the parking lot at Fry’s Electronics, located at 4100 Northgate Blvd., in Sacramento.
Worshipers are invited to park their cars and tune to an FM radio station that will be announced at the event. Motorists are asked not to leave their cars and to follow all guidelines from local, state and federal officials.
The service will be live streamed on Facebook, YouTube and The Crossing Sac app. More information is available at thecrossingchurch.info.
