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Churches will be the last places to reopen in NY, alongside stadiums, concert halls
Syracuse,
N.Y. — Churches and other houses of worship will be among the last
things to reopen in New York state, along with concert halls and
stadiums.
Religious
institutions will be part of phase four of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s
four-phase reopening plan. That’s because they invite large gatherings,
which are a big concern as health officials try to minimize the spread
of Covid-19.
The earliest they could reopen, then, would be June 26.
During
a briefing in Buffalo Monday, New York Budget Director Robert Mujica
said the state is still considering whether to permit small gatherings
at houses of worship. But large, regular services will be among the last
types of gatherings to reopen.
“Houses
of worship, as if you were to just open them up regularly, with new
guidelines, would fall in the last stage," Mujica said. "That’s a mass
gathering. The same thing with a stadium; the same thing with any
situation where you have a lot of people together.”
Religious
leaders have been searching for guidance on whether and when they can
reopen. Cuomo’s executive orders have banned social gatherings, and a
local edict from Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon criminalizes
non-essential gatherings of any size.
A
lobbying group in Albany called New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms
is urging pastors to sign a letter to Cuomo demanding he include
churches as part of phase two of the reopening plan.
“If it is safe to re-open retail establishments in a given region, it is safe to re-open churches in that region as well,” the letter reads.
Cuomo has said the
issue of reopening churches has nothing to do with religion, but rather
with mass gatherings. He’s repeatedly cited an early outbreak in New
Rochelle, where a “super-spreader” passed the coronavirus to dozens,
maybe hundreds of people at a pair of religious ceremonies.
“The
last thing you want is 100, 200 people in close proximity," Cuomo said
in Syracuse last week. “It has nothing to do with religion. It’s the
gathering.”
Mississippi Church Refused to Close Amid Coronavirus Lockdowns. Then It Was Burned to the Ground.
The sanctuary of a Mississippi church whose leaders refused to close down during the coronavirus pandemic has burned to the ground.
An explosion and subsequent fire at First Pentecostal Church of Holly Springs is being investigated as an arson after officials found a spray-painted message in the church’s parking lot: “Bet you stay home now, you hypokrits [sic].”
In the suit, Pastor Jerry Waldrop, who has led First Pentecostal for more than 30 years, claimed local law enforcement officers contradicted the governor by disrupting a Bible study as well as the church’s Easter service April 12, according to WLBT-TV.
Waldrop “held outdoor services when possible but would hold them indoors while practicing social distancing during inclement weather,” according to the complaint. The pastor also sought “a temporary restraining order to keep the city from preventing services inside the church building.”
As far as the church is concerned, Waldrop sees the arson as a targeted attack.
“And now, here are churches like First Pentecostal that are sort of stirring up the waters by being outspoken and somewhat firm about seeking to protect their constitutional rights.”
What else?
Members of First Pentecostal garnered attention last month, when police shut down the congregation’s Easter service. In an effort to “prove a point,” churchgoers traveled to a nearby Walmart.As they walked around the store, which was recorded by Waldrop’s wife and uploaded to YouTube, members continued to note they were not allowed to gather for a worship service but are permitted to file into a Walmart without any issue.
Eventually, police broke up the group and insisted they vacate the premises.
Standing in the Walmart parking lot, Waldrop encouraged preachers “to take a stand” against a threat he described as “more than the coronavirus.”
“This is greater, this is deeper than the coronavirus,” he said. “People need to wake up and see it. And I’m sayin’ stay safe, but are the people that’s being contacted [sic] this coronavirus — are they getting it in the churches? Where are they contacting this virus? Where’s it coming from? Where’s it originate? Where they gettin’ these viruses at?”
