Covid-19 has pulpits going online to reach the absent congregations

Online sermons, turning homes into places of worship and tithing via EFT. It's how churches, mosques and synagogues are adapting to the lockdown.

Simon Lerefolo, a pastor at Every Nation Rosebank in Johannesburg, said his 2,000-member church held four services on Sundays. These have been cancelled, and sermons are now recorded and streamed on social media. "We also use the Zoom platform to meet for Bible study," said Lerefolo.

Church leaders said the loss of fellowship was hardest. "A big part of who we are as a church is the warmth, the quick chats and check-ins with each other, the high fives and the sound of people laughing and singing," said Hans Antonio, associate pastor of The People's Church.

Pastor Yvette Angoma of St George's Cathedral in Cape Town said the church stopped observing communion some time ago because it involved sharing a cup. Now keeping the faith among parishioners was the priority.

"We have recorded a whole lot of sermons that will be sent out during holy week, with Good Friday and Easter Sunday probably one of our biggest festivals of the church. So we will have, for example, a Good Friday message that goes out to all our parishioners via YouTube, through e-mail, on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook," she said.

Hanifaa Akoo from Durban has turned her granny cottage into a room for prayer.

"Our family is very involved in the Masjid al-Hilal mosque in Crescent Street. The call to prayer that is announced through the speakers of a mosque usually calls people to the mosque. Now mosques have changed the call to 'pray at home'," she said.

Sheikh Riyad Fattar, second deputy sheikh of the Muslim Judicial Council, said the organisation had become a "command centre" for the Islamic community and was encouraging it to adhere to lockdown rules and regulations.

Huge congregations, such as the Grace Bible Church in Soweto, have had their first Zoom service, using the booming video-conferencing platform, while Divine Restoration Ministries in Bloemfontein - at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak - has switched to live-streaming services.

While some churches have been able to move to tithing via EFT and transferring their offerings online, some said not all members were able to do so.

Pastor Mulalo Hugo Tshikalange from Bethlehem has seen a huge decline in contributions since people were no longer congregating at church.

"Having to pay rent is a challenge. We will now have to negotiate with landlords. The fortunate churches are those that have their own building - they won't have much to worry about except water and electricity," said Tshikalange.

The chair of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies, Shaun Zagnoev, said the Jewish community had several welfare organisations registered as essential services, so these were able to assist vulnerable community members.