SpokaneFāVS
On Friday Bishop Gretchen Rehberg of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane requested that all churches suspend worship until March 31, at which time the COVID-19 situation will be evaluated.
The diocese will provide materials for in-home worship and plans to live-stream services.
Additionally, it was announced that all diocesan sponsored meetings and events are cancelled and congregations and committees are asked to limit in-person meetings.
Funerals will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Other churches throughout Spokane have also moved online, including Manito Presbyterian Church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane and all Latter-day Saint stakes.
The Bishop of the Buddhist Churches of America has asked all churches to close, therefore the Spokane Buddhist Temple has closed its doors for now and is referring the Sangha to the Seattle Betsuin YouTube channel for live stream services.
Other local churches are expected to make announcements soon.
The Catholic Diocese of Spokane is continuing to offer Mass at this time.
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Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
