A California megachurch on Thursday sued Gov. Gavin Newsom for the state’s coronavirus restrictions on worship, just days after more than 1,000 people gathered for services.
The church, Grace Community Church, led by the influential pastor John MacArthur, has been holding “peaceful protest” services since late July, when it reopened following the easing of Newsom’s previous all-out ban on church services. Hours after the church sued, representatives for Los Angeles County, where it is located, launched a countersuit, complaining that MacArthur would not cease to “hold in-person, indoor worship in violation of the State and County public health orders.”
Like many other suits filed against Newsom since he reinstituted coronavirus restrictions, which include bans on singing and indoor worship in most churches, MacArthur alleged that the governor placed “onerous restrictions” on his church while turning a blind eye to protesters who also broke shutdown orders.
MacArthur, on Tuesday, defended his services, which according to photos taken during services, involve thousands of people packed tightly in pews.
“We open the doors because that’s what we are,” he told CNN. “We’re a church, and we’re going to trust those people to make adult decisions about the reality of their physical and spiritual health.”
Upon reopening his church, MacArthur defended his decision in a sermon titled “Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church.”
“As the church, we do not need the state’s permission to serve and worship our Lord as He has commanded,” he said. “The church is Christ’s precious bride. She belongs to Him alone.”
