When will your church reopen?
Pastor,
Did you know that “essential” workers in the State of California include “[w]orkers supporting the entertainment industries, studios, and other related establishments, provided they follow covid-19 public health guidance around physical distancing.” So if a porn studio or Hollywood movie company is essential, why aren’t churches deemed essential when they have the same ability to follow public health guidelines?
We filed a lawsuit in federal court against the California Governor making this same argument. But, so far, federal courts in California have not ruled in favor of churches, while judges in the Midwest have been more favorable to churches.
What happens when neither the judges, legislatures nor governors are willing to protect the free exercise of religion?
In a Zoom conference for pastors organized by Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills last week, Pastor Jack suggested that it was time for churches to unite and reopen together, notwithstanding the dictatorial orders of individual governors.
Pastor Jack, Jim Domen of Church United, Jim Franklin of Cornerstone Church in Fresno, and many other pastors are now declaring the Day of Pentecost, May 31, 2020, as the date that they will resume in-person church services because churches are “essential”. Some may even reopen sooner than that.
We are honored to be representing these pastors and their churches. They are taking a stand, notwithstanding the risk of violating the orders of governors.
While standing for religious liberties, we want to be careful to represent Christ well and desire that our actions will help lead people toward Christ. We respect the governing authorities and their role in public safety. However, the governing authorities have ignored our pleas, suspended church gatherings indefinitely, and refused to provide a date upon which churches can lawfully commence the practice of worshiping God together in houses of worship.
We have tried to seek a remedy in the lower federal courts and will continue proceeding on appeal. Although we believe that the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually vindicate our religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution, these courageous pastors have approached us with the intent to reopen their churches, while practicing all necessary CDC guidelines to protect their congregations, as of May 31, 2020.
While we are thankful to the governing authorities for the significant efforts made to protect the public from COVID-19, the remaining threat of COVID-19 is outweighed by the severe restrictions upon the free exercise of religion and outweighed by the significant secondary social effects of the shutdown.
We believe that if we leave it to individual politicians, churches may always be relegated to nonessential status even after COVID-19. Therefore, we are standing with our church leaders in reclaiming their rightful role as being "essential" to their congregation and community.
Pastor, if you and your church want to join Pastor Jack Hibbs and many other pastors, you can sign the petition at the link below and please share this page with your friends, families and other church and ministry leaders you know. You can read the letter brief we intend to send to the governor of your state after we gather the petitions at the link below.
Watch Pastor Jack Hibbs, of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, give a message to Pastors and Church Members in California. It’s time to Reopen!
Pastor Rob McCoy, of Calvary Chapel Thousand Oaks, encourages Pastors and Church Members to sign the petition to open churches back up by May 31,2020.
Watch Pastor Jim Franklin of Cornerstone Church Fresno Give a Press Conference on Plans to Reopen
Sign the Petition Now!
As you know, Advocates attorneys are always available to answer any questions you may have at 951-600-2733 or info@faith-freedom.com.
Thank you for your participation in this “essential” Call To Action!
In His Service,
Robert H. Tyler
General Counsel
P.S. We are grateful for the blessings of your generous financial donations which allow us to pay for the costly legal research and extensive court battles we are certain to face against Vimeo, Freedom From Religion Foundation, and possibly even the state of California.