Name: Coronavirus: Some San Diego church services still happened Sunday, others online
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Coronavirus: Some San Diego church services still happened Sunday, others online

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Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement One parishioner at Corpus Christi Catholic Church on Sunday morning Mass described the mood as somber. There were about 150 people at the Bonita church for the 9 a.m. service in the massive sanctuary. It typically has around 800. Corpus Christi had already asked elderly members to stay home, and the Diocese of San Diego has starting Monday (with online services next Sunday). But, Pastor Efrain Bautista said Mass was important Sunday so he could explain to members — especially older ones without Internet — why services would be canceled in coming weeks. AdvertisementAcross San Diego County, many churches went to an online-only format as fears of coronavirus spread and local and state officials discourage large gatherings. “We all must take the measures that are asked of us,” Bautista said during his homily. “But, the one thing that we never change is lose our faith and our hope in God.”Even though Corpus Christi was still open, all pews and door handles were being wiped down between the day’s six services. Stations near the door where Holy Water would normally be were replaced with hand sanitizers. Service was sped up to 40 minutes to avoid meeting for too long. There were still a few things during Mass that might make medical experts nervous, such as communion and the passing of collection baskets. /Father Efrain Bautista at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Chula Vista announced at the beginning of mass that church masses will temporarily stop after today’s mass. Because of the statewide cancellation of gatherings over 250, the Diocese of San Diego is canceling public masses effective March 16th. The 9:00am mass at Corpus Christi typically would draw about 800 parish members, however on Sunday they had about 150 members.&nbsp; /Gina Lupian, 69 from Bonita attends Sunday mass at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Chula Vista on March 15, 2020. Because of the statewide cancellation of gatherings over 250, the Diocese of San Diego is canceling public masses effective March 16th. The 9:00am mass at Corpus Christi typically would draw about 800 parish members, however on Sunday they had about 150 members.&nbsp; /Because of the concerns of the Coronavirus, holy water at the church entrances has been replaced with hand sanitizer Corpus ChristiCatholic Church in Chula Vista.&nbsp; Parishioner Gina Lupian, 69, of Bonita, said she was not scared about attending and was putting her faith in a higher power. “I trust in God. That’s it,” she said. “I’m very at peace about this.”But, what about potentially spreading the illness to others? Lupian said she had been taking precautions not to touch anything and they would not be doing the peace offering where people shake hands. The same went for married parishioners Cindy Gliebe, 64, and Mike Gliebe, 75, who said they would be cautious inside the sanctuary to not spread germs. “We are walking in faith,” Cindy Gliebe said. /Phil Metzger, lead pastor at Calvary San Diego in Chula Vista says his Sunday service would have between 600-700 members attending. However the statewide cancellation of gatherings over 250, has left Metzger to continue his preaching to online.&nbsp; /Phil Metzger, lead pastor at Calvary San Diego in Chula Vista says his Sunday service would have between 600-700 members attending. However the statewide cancellation of gatherings over 250, has left Metzger to continue his preaching to online. This past Sunday, Metzger with the help of his staff, recorded several “live church service” episodes for release during the week.&nbsp; /Phil Metzger, lead pastor at Calvary San Diego in Chula Vista says his Sunday service would have between 600-700 members attending. However the statewide cancellation of gatherings over 250, has left Metzger to continue his preaching to online. This past Sunday, Metzger with the help of his staff, recorded several “live church service” episodes for release during the week.&nbsp; About three miles south of Corpus Christi, the nondenominational church Calvary San Diego in Chula Vista was preparing its first online service. The message was airing through its mobile application, as well as Facebook and its website. Lead pastor Phil Metzger said canceling its Sunday service, typically attended by 600 to 700 people, seemed like a good idea. “It’s not a fear-based decision. We want to be responsible,” he said in the empty sanctuary. “Churches are places where different groups of people gather and the worst thing that would happen is we would become an epicenter.” Similar to Bautista, Metzger’s message was of trusting God through difficult times. Calvary plans to put new teachings up on Facebook throughout the week, using the time people may be at home to learn more about their faith, or to learn more about the church’s teachings for the first time. San Diego’s megachurch Rock Church was also only online Sunday, preaching about the virus and how it relates to Gospel teachings. “God is on the throne. This is not the end of the world,” said Pastor Miles McPherson, “And if it is, and you know Jesus, great, but I don’t want Jesus to come back yet. We have too much work to do.”He said a lot of churches were stepping up to the plate to help during this difficult time. He said the world was divided at the moment and it was up to the church to take care of others, and themselves.“This is not time for us in the church to go hide,” McPherson said. He cited this passage from 2 Timothy 1:7 (New King James Version) to make his point: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.” Get Essential San Diego, weekday mornings Get top headlines from the Union-Tribune in your inbox weekday mornings, including top news, local, sports, business, entertainment and opinion. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Show Comments Load More Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement

Copyright © 2022, The San Diego Union-Tribune | | AdvertisementAdvertisement One parishioner at Corpus Christi Catholic Church on Sunday morning Mass described the mood as somber. There were about 150 people at the Bonita church for the 9 a.m. service in the massive sanctuary. It typically has around 800. Corpus Christi had already asked elderly members to stay home, and the Diocese of San Diego has starting Monday (with online services next Sunday). But, Pastor Efrain Bautista said Mass was important Sunday so he could explain to members — especially older ones without Internet — why...

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Phillip Molnar

PhillipMolnar

The San Diego Union-Tribune, the region's leading news source since 1868. Follow our journalists, too: http://j.mp/UTstaff

Coronavirus: Some San Diego church services still happened Sunday, others online

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