Editor’s note: The story was updated May 6 to include information about Illinois.
Nearly 500 California pastors are preparing to open their doors on Sunday, May 31 — whether or not they have guidance from the state, CBN News reported.
“The churches are not asking for permission,” said Bob Tyler, a religious freedom attorney advising the pastors. “The governor is sitting here as a dictator, trumping the Constitution and is kind of hanging on to this state of emergency for as long as he can hold it.”
Right now, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has signaled that he will allow churches to open in Stage 3 of his plan, which could be weeks or months from now.
Newsom is bolstered by a federal judge’s decision in Sacramento this week. Judge John Mendez ruled the governor has the right to temporarily ban church gatherings for the sake of public health.
Pastor Matt Brown, pastor of Sandals Church in Riverside said his church has called thousands of its attendees and found that many are struggling.
“We have all kinds of emotional issues that are going on. We have marital issues in our church. We’re seeing a spike in depression, suicide, drug addiction,” he said in a video posted on the church website.
The full story can be found at CBN News.
California churches aren’t the only ones struggling with the ramifications of forced closures. Churches in Illinois may be closed for another year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) announced May 6.
Pritzker announced a five-phase plan to reopen Illinois that gives guidance to schools, businesses, churches, and other religious centers about when they will be allowed to reopen, the NBC Chicago reported.
Churches are delegated to Phase 5 with all other places of “recreation.” However, it may be possible for churches to open under Phase 4, if they agree to limit participation to no more than 50 people.
“We have to figure out how to live with COVID-19 until it can be vanquished – and to do so in a way that best supports our residents’ health and our healthcare systems, and saves the most lives,” Pritzker said Tuesday.
Vanquished, or “defeated permanently,” as defined in the dictionary.
If that’s the case, Christians in Illinois may be in for a long wait considering that scientists have yet to discover a way to vanquish other serious communicable diseases, like flu.
