BBC launches virtual Sunday church service amid coronavirus pandemic

The virtual church service will take place on Sunday mornings across local radio in England, initially led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

The BBC will also aim to broadcast a weekly Sunday morning church service on BBC One, but this will be subject to outside broadcast capacity. On top of that, the broadcaster has also said it's exploring how to support "other religions and denominations, including in the run-up to Ramadan."

The measure is part of the broadcaster's plan to "keep the nation informed, educated, and entertained in unprecedented times." Other actions include temporarily postponing the removal of free TV licences for over 75s and bringing back classic TV and radio shows to iPlayer.

The plan was announced on Wednesday afternoon, with BBC Director-General Tony Hall saying: "We all know these are challenging times for each and every one of us. As the national broadcaster, the BBC has a special role to play at this time of national need.

"We need to pull together to get through this. That’s why the BBC will be using all of its resources - channels, stations and output - to help keep the nation informed, educated and entertained. We are making a series of changes to our output to achieve that.

"We will continue to deliver all the essential news and information - with special programming and content."

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