ATLANTA — As coronavirus concerns continue to grow, some churches and places of worship are taking different preventative actions.
Some places of worship have announced they will hold church virtually, following the online action taken by many schools, jobs, and government agencies across the nation.
Gov. Brian Kemp announced in a press conference on Thursday that the elderly population with underlying conditions is most vulnerable to the virus that is sweeping the nation.
He encouraged "all families to get together to talk about how they're going to protect their grandparents, how they're going to protect their loved ones with health conditions and come up with a game plan for getting them what they need."
He also called on educational and community leaders to consider closing daycares, schools and school districts for two weeks. He stressed it was not a mandate.
Here's a list of the churches that are closed:
For an up-to-date listing of houses of worship that have announced closings, please visit our closings page at 11Alive.com/closings.
Cherokee County:
- Hillside UMC Church is closed through March 29
Cobb County:
- East Cobb UMC Activities from March 15 through March 20 suspended. Preschool, church office still open.
- Fair Oaks United Methodist Church in Marietta is canceling worship services and activities for the next two weeks.
- Kennesaw UMC All activities canceled.
- Mt. Zion UMC, Marietta Services canceled.
- Zion Baptist Church, Marietta Services canceled
DeKalb County:
- Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Lithonia No service Sunday and until further notice.
- Dunwoody Baptist Church Services and church-related activities canceled for at least 2 weeks. Worship online at normal times.
Fayette County:
- Fayetteville First Baptist Church Serves canceled through Wednesday. Sunday service to be live-streamed. Office open.
Fulton County:
- Calvary UMC Closed through Thursday.
- Christian Fellowship Baptist Church Services canceled
- Cascade UMC All church activities suspended until further notice
- Hanuman Mandir, Alpharetta Temple closed as a safety measure
- Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church Closed through Thursday
- Northpoint Community Church will move all of its services online for the next three weeks.
- St. James UMC will cancel all large gatherings through the end of March. Instead, they will be streaming an abbreviated service at both 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. March 15.
- Tri-Cities Church will not be meeting this Sunday.
Gwinnett County:
- Hebron Baptist Church, Dacula Services canceled
- Ivy Creek Church in Buford will be canceling all in-person activities (Sunday school, worship services, Bible studies, small groups, children and youth activities, music rehearsals, and any other group meeting) on campus beginning Sunday, March 15. The church will be live streaming the worship service online Sunday at 11 a.m.
Henry County
- Harvest Point UMC Online services through March 29
Hall County:
- Free Chapel will move all of its services online.
- Gainesville First UMC in Gainesville, Georgia will not hold worship services on Sunday, March 15 or Sunday, March 22.
Rockdale County:
- Conyers First United Methodist Church All facilities and Sunday morning services closed through March 28.
If you know of any more, please email us at news@11alive.com
In Georgia, the risk of contracting COVID-19 remains low, according to officials. At 11Alive, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.11Alive.com/Coronavirus.
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