A Los Angeles County judge denied the county’s request for a temporary restraining order against a prominent evangelical church and its pastor after they did not comply with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to shutter their house of worship because of the coronavirus.
Judge James Chalfant agreed with Grace Community Church and Pastor John MacArthur that the burden rested on Los Angeles County officials to prove why they were justified in infringing upon the church’s right to freely exercise their religion. The church nevertheless agreed to abide by mask and social distancing protocols at least until the full hearing in September.
Judge Allows Indoor Services https://t.co/d1J5gf4K9K
— John MacArthur (@johnmacarthur) August 15, 2020
According to a press release from the church’s legal counsel at the Thomas More Society:
Continue ReadingTo address those concerns and after explaining that the County was being unreasonable in its demands, counsel for Grace Community Church offered to comply with mask wearing and social distancing indoors until the matter could be fully heard, rather than the County simply rushing to shut down the Church. The judge agreed this was reasonable, set the full hearing for September 4, 2020, and ordered the Church to have congregants wear masks and social distance between family groups indoors…