Coronavirus: Cathedrals and churches live stream services

Churches and cathedrals plan to reach congregations virtually during the pandemic

Churches and cathedrals in England are planning to stream services after being instructed to close for three months because of coronavirus.

Durham Cathedral plans to post some services online and live stream others.

Precentor Canon Michael Hampel said he hoped it would allow congregations to be a part of worship "even though we are apart from each other right now".

"We feel greatly conflicted" by closing but would "play our part in stemming the flow of the coronavirus", he said.

Churches such as Trent Vineyard Church in Nottingham plan to stream three services on Sundays while others, like St Andrew's Church in Shifnal, Shropshire, are recording sermons and putting them on YouTube.

Some mosques have also announced plans to stream prayers.

Mass and Choral Evensong services at All Saints' Church in Northampton posted on Facebook have been viewed hundreds of times.

Church rector Father Oliver Coss joked on Twitter that the inadvertent "comedy moments" would make an "outstanding couple of hours' amusement" when the pandemic was over.

Catholic mass is being live streamed from a number of churches in the Diocese of Westminster.

Priests at St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Cathedral in Norwich will celebrate mass every day, but without a congregation, and plan to have these streamed early next week.

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St Stephen's Church in Borrowash, Derbyshire and St Helier Methodist Centre in Jersey hope to live-stream Sunday services soon.

Durham Cathedral said a service for St Cuthbert's Day would go online on Friday at 19:00 GMT while Holy Communion would be live streamed at 11:15 on Sunday on the cathedral's Facebook page and remain online for a week.

BBC local radio stations will be broadcasting a service given by the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury at 08:00 each Sunday, which will also be streamed at 09:00 on the Church of England's Facebook page.