Who streams, and where to look
- Parish churches and local congregations.Most stream via YouTube or Facebook. The link usually sits on the church website's front page, under headings like Watch Live or Church Online. Find a church through our county index and follow its website link.
- Cathedrals. Many English cathedrals stream daily worship, including choral evensong, which makes world-class choral music available at 5:30pm on an ordinary Tuesday. See our evensong guide.
- Catholic parishes and shrines. Daily Mass is streamed from many parishes and from shrines such as Walsingham, so Mass is watchable at almost any hour.
- Larger evangelical, Pentecostal and Black majority churches. Often the most polished streams, with worship, preaching and online hosts welcoming viewers by name in the chat.
- Broadcast services. The BBC continues its long tradition: Sunday Worship on Radio 4, Choral Evensong on Radio 3, and televised Songs of Praise, a livestream before livestreams existed.
Watching well
A livestream is easy to treat as background television. A few habits make it feel like worship instead:
- Watch live rather than the recording when you can; knowing others are worshipping at the same moment changes the experience.
- Prepare the space: a quiet room, phone notifications off, perhaps a candle lit and a Bible to hand.
- Join in aloud: say the responses, sing the hymns, pray the prayers. Nobody can hear you, which is rather freeing.
- Use the chat if offered. Typed prayer requests are read and prayed for in many churches.
- Give if the church is your regular one; streaming congregations still heat buildings and pay ministers, and most list an online giving link.
What a livestream cannot do
Churches themselves say it plainly: the stream is a bridge, not a destination. It cannot pass you the peace, share communion with you in most traditions, notice you are struggling, or drink tea with you afterwards. If health or circumstances keep you at home, many congregations will bring communion to you if asked, and a phone call to the church office is welcome, not an imposition. If you are streaming because you have not yet found a congregation, treat the stream as a scouting tool and then visit in person; our guide to finding a church near you takes it from there.
Frequently asked questions
Are livestreamed services free to watch?
Yes, universally. Churches never charge for worship, streamed or in person. Donation links are offered, never required.
Can I take communion through a screen?
Traditions differ. Catholics and Orthodox make a spiritual communion, a prayer of desire, when they cannot receive. Some Protestant churches invite viewers to share bread and wine at home during the prayer; others reserve communion for the gathered congregation. Follow the guidance given in the service itself.
Do churches mind people watching without attending?
Not at all; churches count their online congregation as part of the church. They will gently hope to meet you one day, and the difference between watching and belonging is explored in our companion guide to online church services.