Twin Lakes Church in Aptos announced Wednesday they have moved their worship services to live-stream only for the next two weekends in accordance with county health recommendations. The church is encouraging parishioners to gather in homes and view services remotely.
On March 9, the Santa Cruz County Health Department declared a local emergency, recommending canceling or postponing large gatherings of around 50 or more. “We have significant respect for our local county health professionals and want to honor their recommendation. So out of an abundance of caution, we will hold church services only via live-streaming for the next two weekends,” explained senior pastor Rene Schlaepfer. “This is coming from a place of compassion and good citizenship. We’re committed to the well-being of our whole community. We have a responsibility.”
The church regularly hosts about 3,000 people each weekend, making it the largest regular weekly gathering in Santa Cruz County. Worship services will now only be live-streamed on YouTube, Facebook Live, and Vimeo, Saturdays at 6 pm, and Sundays at 9 am or 10:45 am through March 22.
“Church is not canceled. It’s just changed,” emphasized Schlaepfer. “I think of it as TLC moving into a thousand homes.” Organizers will tailor the worship service experience to make it more engaging for remote viewers, with opportunities to respond to the sermon via social media.
The church will continue to host most of its small groups, and the church school will continue to meet, with an advisory that those in high-risk groups consider staying at home. “We look forward to getting back to in-person, live services,” said Schlaepfer. “But this is also an opportunity. I am grateful we have the infrastructure that enables us to pivot to this solution!”
For more details, visit the church web site at www.tlc.org.
For details about health department recommendations, go to santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus or call 211 or text “coronavirus” to 211211.
