My family attended our first online mass once everything shut down last week and I wanted to explain the process and recap my experience in case you were curious about attending a virtual mass as well.
How To Attend Online Mass
There are so many different ways to participate in mass online these days. And guess what? It doesn’t have to only be Sunday mass online! I’ve noticed that churches are actually offering several services during the week in an attempt to accommodate the schedules of their congregations. Some sites are even offering DAILY uploads which is wonderful.
When the world is turned right side up, you can always find my family sitting somewhere in the back of our church – every Sunday. My children are still so very uncontrollable and we haven’t graduated to closer proximity … or what my pastor calls the “splash zone.”
So, online mass is an absolute blessing for me. There’s nothing for us to cancel, no excuses to make – we were already always going… and now I get to separate my boys on opposite sides of the couch. BLISS! I can actually RELAX a bit during a service.
Sunday Mass Online
Most Sunday mass online services are taking place on either Facebook or YouTube. Those platforms allow churches to stream LIVES which means that they can have their service on their alter and set up a computer to help people at home follow along.
Here is a list of churches that I found online that offer these services. I tried to find a few different religions, so you can take what you need.
Lutheran Mass Online
This is my personal church. This is the church that I attend, that we called our preschool, and that we are lucky enough to consider a community of friends. The Lutheran Church of Resurrection has two masses scheduled weekly. For more information, visit their Youtube page or their Facebook page.
Evangelical Online Mass
Life.Church – part of the Evangelical Covenant church – has always held their masses online and has a full blown system already in place to help their community connect with their services. Click here to see how you can join in to one of their sermons today.
Catholic Mass Online
The Catholic Church has an incredible amount of offerings. I couldn’t believe how many websites and YouTube channels I found dedicated to Catholic Mass online – even DAILY! However, in an attempt to not overwhelm you, here’s the Daily TV Mass channel. You can literally go to mass once a day thanks to them!
Jewish Shabbat Services Online
I also found online Shabbat Services live streaming both at 6:00pm Fridays & 9:30am Saturdays. If you would like to participate at home, you can thanks to the Central Synagogue. Click here and bookmark this site.
Nation Of Islam
The Nation of Islam has a livestream embedded on the home screen of their website for their community to tune into in an effort to bring their constituents together. Click here to access it.
Will You Attend An Online Mass This Week?
Going to church has never been easier! In fact, last week, we brought our dog, Tucker, with us and he loved it.
The truth of the matter is that I wasn’t sure WHAT I would feel when I sat down on the couch to watch Sunday mass online. It was a foreign concept to us – for sure.
At first, I felt sad for all of us. That we were home and unable to get together. I always look at my time with the church as a cleansing. No matter how crazy of a week, I know, in under an hour, that my brain will reset. I wasn’t sure if I would get that same feeling at home.
But, I felt something much more at home. I felt spiritually connected to everyone who was watching. It made me cry a little. All of us – literally stuck at home – and yet, we chose to still be together doing this thing with God. I actually thought it was quite beautiful.
There were over 100 people logged in with their families and every now and then I glanced down to see what they were saying. A few comments trickled in repeating my exact sentiments. It was a beautiful moment.
Attending a virtual mass isn’t strange. If you need to do it because you are homebound, elderly, sick, or unable to leave because of state orders (sigh), this is a wonderful chance to reconnect with God in a special way.
Grab a sit, your most comfiest robe, heck… grab a snack! Who cares!? He most certainly doesn’t. The Word is waiting for you and peace of mind is only a click away.
Other Virtual Things To Do At Home
- How To Set Up A Virtual Fitness Class With A Long Distant Friend
- Plan A Virtual Lunch With Friends Using A Free Video Chat App – Here’s 3 To Use
- How To Talk To A Doctor Online – 7 Virtual Doctors To Choose From
- Virtual Field Trips: 20 Online Virtual Tours You Can Take With The Kids Including Parks, Museums, And More
- Take your kids to the Virtual Zoo – Animal Livestreams on YouTube