Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Monday “stay at home” executive order requiring the suspension of all activities “not necessary to sustain or protect life” exempts churches whose leaders wish to hold in-person services.
The exemption is an extension of a provision that Whitmer’s office confirmed on Sunday. That order states that churches will not be prosecuted for holding gatherings with more than 50 people present amid the state’s tightening coronavirus shutdowns. The new order maintains that rule, saying that “a place of religious worship, when used for religious worship,” will not be penalized, while other “non-essential” gatherings will be.
Whitmer’s exemption for churches, an addition to a previous decision that only mentioned healthcare facilities, public transit, office spaces, and the state Legislature, was an effort to preserve the “separation of church and state,” the governor said on Sunday.
“The Republican legislature asked me to clarify that that’s an area that we don’t have the ability to enforce and control,” Whitmer said on Fox News Sunday. “We are encouraging people though, do not congregate.”
Whitmer’s comments came after Republican Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield thanked her for the exemption in a Facebook post.
“People have a God-given right to assemble and worship, and that right is secured by both the United States and Michigan Constitution,” Chatfield wrote. “While I do not think that that right can be taken away by an Executive Order, I believe that as Christians we also have a duty to love our fellow man and play our role within society. My recommendation is to find ways that you can abide within the order to the best of your ability.”
More than 1,000 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Michigan.
Many churches in Michigan are maintaining their in-person service cancellations despite the exemption. Both the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit and the Diocese of Lansing told the Washington Examiner that they would continue to stream Mass online.
“Public Masses within the Diocese of Lansing remain temporarily suspended while our churches remain open for private prayer but with clear advice to those entering them to observe both social distancing and sensible norms of hygiene,” said David Kerr, a spokesman for the Diocese of Lansing.
Kensington Church, the largest evangelical church in the Detroit area, said in a statement on Sunday that it would not resume in-person services.
Some churches, however, are taking advantage of the exemption — while maintaining cautious practices. Greater Grace Temple, a megachurch in Detroit, allowed about 200 people into its congregation hall on Sunday, provided that they kept their distance from each other. Ushers wore latex gloves and carried around bottles of hand sanitizer, according to Deadline Detroit.
At All God’s People, another church near Detroit, congregants sat in their cars while W.J. Rideout, the church’s pastor, read from the Bible and delivered a sermon over a loudspeaker.
“My intention is let the people know they’re going to be safe, and they don’t have to be around people,” Rideout told Deadline Detroit. “We want to encourage their heart to let them know we’re not just trusting in our political leaders, we’re not just trusting in Lysol and bleach, we are trusting in the true and living God.”
