Coronavirus Threat Prompts Large Monrovia Church - and Others - to Switch Services to Online

In light of coronavirus "updates from governmental organizations, health organizations, local schools, and large churches throughout LA," Monrovia's Fellowship Church, which meets at the Monrovia High Auditorium and is one of the largest churches in the San Gabriel Valley, is switching all its weekend services online "for the remainder of March."

In an email to the congregation, the church adds that it "will be cancelling all in-person mid-week gatherings, events, and programming at all of our locations until further notice," though church offices and the counseling department will remain open.

The weekend services will be online  Saturday at 5 p.m. or on Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. on madeforfellowship.com, Facebook, the Fellowship App, or through the church's Apple TV and Roku apps.

The church also asked for prayer for those who have lost loved ones, for the recovery of those infected, that enough test kits will be available, and for wisdom for those working to find a vaccine and for those entrusted with decision-making authority.

Fellowship Church is one of several large Los Angeles-area churches to cancel in-person services. Others include Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, Christian Assembly, La Cañada Presbyterian, and Reality LA.

UPDATE: Monrovia's Hope Unlimited Church has also decided to switch to all-online services "for at least the next 3 Sundays."

UPDATE 2: Calvary Chapel Monrovia reports that it plans "to act prayerfully and appropriately as we monitor local, state, and federal governments and health agencies." It says it is stepping up cleaning and sanitizing and "if a confirmed infection were to occur in our immediate area, we are prepared to implement additional measures."

- Brad Haugaard