A series of California churches this weekend defied Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revamped restrictions on worship, with some suing on the basis of alleged First Amendment infringements.
Newsom’s restrictions, which came after the state experienced a second wave of coronavirus cases, prohibit indoor services and singing during church. The governor instituted the singing ban in early July and nixed indoor services last week. Both bans struck a sour note with pastors, many of whom said their churches require both song and air conditioning to function.
Harvest Rock, an evangelical church based in Pasadena and with campuses throughout Southern California, held services inside on Sunday, after suing Newsom Friday for violating the First Amendment’s free exercise clause.
In a Sunday sermon, the church’s pastor, Che Ahn, directed his message at Newsom, saying that Christian churches have been “essential” since the birth of Jesus Christ and that government restrictions will not dictate how they act. Ahn also noted that Newsom’s permissive attitude toward protesters gathering in large groups, while actively discouraging church groups doing the same, shows that he has a selective reading of the First Amendment.
“I want us to pray right now that we will win that court case,” he concluded. “No one is above the Constitution. No one is above the law.”
Harvest Rock’s suit, filed by the nonprofit law firm Liberty Counsel, which specializes in religious liberty litigation, alleges that Newsom’s July orders make it nearly impossible for many churches to meet. And, like many complaints made against governors since protests began in late May, it includes the accusation that Newsom imposed “discriminatory and disparate” regulations on church services by not showing them the same deference as he has protests in his public statements and health guidelines.
Harvest Counsel’s suit joined that of three other churches from the Sacramento area who last week sued Newsom for violating the Free Exercise clause. Several other churches in the state have threatened legal action against Newsom, as the second round of coronavirus restrictions revives grievances that many churches held against the state during the first shutdown.
Many church leaders in the state have stated that they cannot in good conscience follow Newsom’s bans.
In Fresno, Cornerstone Church pastor Jim Franklin held indoor services, after publicly stating last week that because of the extreme heat in California’s Central Valley, he thinks it is unsafe to have church outside. Franklin, who sued Newsom in May after the governor limited attendance at churches, told the local ABC affiliate that his decision has drawn many more people than usual.
Franklin last week joined fellow pastor Don Komush of Upper Room Church in organizing a rally to be held this week in opposition to Newsom’s orders.
Komush said that his rally, which he began promoting after the singing ban, said that he believes Newsom is “targeting” churches to “make an example” of them.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “We believe as Christians that we are being attacked. We can pray, and that’s a great thing, but at some point, you have got to take action too.”
Komush, along with other pastors in the area, last week called upon President Trump to intervene, recalling how Trump in May threatened to “override” governors who didn’t open churches and how the Justice Department wrote Newsom a letter claiming that he had imposed “unfair burdens” on churches.
This latest religious liberty battle is playing out along similar lines as previous coronavirus-related litigation in both California and other states. As before, many of the lawsuits filed have come from churches banded together and represented by nonprofit law firms, such as Liberty Counsel, whose chairman, Mat Staver, in April called all church shutdowns “unconstitutional.”
At the same time, however, some of the churches who led the crusade against Newsom in May — threatening to open their doors with or without his approval — have complied with these latest restrictions. Danny Carroll, the pastor of Water Life Church, led a coalition of more than 3,000 churches in opposing Newsom this spring, but at the time told the Washington Examiner that if there were a coronavirus resurgence, he would close his doors again.
Carroll noted in an announcement last week that Water of Life will move its services outdoors, in the interests of “prudence and wisdom.”
