Pretoria churches livestream services

Most local churches have suspended their services and moved to online platforms to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Hatfield Christian Church senior pastor Louis Kotze said the church cancelled all its services from this week, including Easter celebrations, until further notice, he told Pretoria East Rekord.

“It is important for us as a church to adhere to the president’s call to stop gatherings of more than 100 people amid the coronavirus outbreak to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Adhering to the call is a responsible thing to do for us to protect the well-being of people,” he said.

“The church will move to our online platforms during this period at our normal service times.”

In a statement, the leadership of Hillsong Church South Africa temporarily suspended Sunday church gatherings, starting from Sunday.

The leadership of the church said the cancellation of services was important in limiting physical contact and preventing the transmission of Covid-19.

“The physical health and well-being of our congregation is our highest priority.

“To ensure that our church family can remain planted in God’s house during this health crisis and still have a great church experience we will be live-streaming our Sunday services,” the statement said.

In a statement, the Moreletapark congregation said the church cancelled services from the upcoming Sunday, 22 March, until 5 April.

The church said it would also publish services on its online platforms.

“The messages will continue to be timely and encourage you to follow our services via our Moreleta Live channel on YouTube at 9.30am and 6.30pm.

“All other activities and group meetings (greater than 100) that would take place on the premises from Saturday, 21 March to Monday, 13 April 2020 will be postponed.”

The Moreletapark congregation said further details of postponement or cancellation of the Easter celebration would be communicated later.

In a statement, Lewende Woord Brummeria church announced the suspension of all their services, courses and events on Monday until further notice.

“Our Sunday service will move to various interactive, online platforms during normal service times to stay connected,” it said.

The Zion Christian Church also announced the cancellation of its big Easter gathering at Moria, attended by thousands every year.

This follows after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster on 15 March and prohibited gatherings of more than 100 people.