TopFeatured.com

Pastors from around Southern California gathered at a Dana Point restaurant Tuesday afternoon to share their experiences dealing with public health departments’ treatment of churches with regard to COVID-19 restrictions.

The meeting, organized by Asian Industries B2B, a Christian business networking group, was closed to the media because several pastors who were present have lawsuits pending against public health agencies over the issue of religious freedom and were not comfortable speaking on the record, said Marc Ang, founder of the group.

Churches vs. health officials

Ang said he had his own encounter with the Los Angeles Public Health Department over the weekend when the Walnut church where he is associate pastor hosted an outdoor Family Fair featuring a petting zoo, a blessing of the animals, a puppet show, food and other entertainment.

Ang and others at the gathering questioned health departments’ different treatment of church gatherings versus social justice protests and marches. He said while Los Angeles County public health officials objected to his church’s fair, they apparently had no problems with the Women’s March in Los Angeles, where hundreds marched from Pershing Square to LA City Hall.

“I received harassing calls and emails from the health department and was threatened with fines, shutdown and imprisonment the same weekend the Women’s March was allowed to take place,” he said. “This is an absolute double standard.”

The meeting among about 50 pastors was held in two groups because of social distancing guidelines at the Brio Tuscany Grille Restaurant. Temperature checks were performed at the entrance and masks were handed out to attendees, but no one was masked when the meeting began.

Los Angeles County health officials said they contacted the Walnut church before the event to let it know the fair wouldn’t be legal under local health orders. But the church didn’t respond, so an environmental health specialist went out to the church the afternoon of the event, officials said. He waited to speak to the event coordinator for a “long time,” but no one came out to meet him and fair attendees began to scream at him. So he left the premises, officials said.

“Public Health did not demand that the group stop their gathering or try to shut them down,” health officials said in a statement. “However, due to their lack of cooperation and failure to comply with the Health Officer Order, citations will be issued to the church and the event organizer.”

Religious freedom during the pandemic

Officials said the directives are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community. But, when individuals and entities don’t comply, enforcement may include issuing a violation or citation.

While a majority of houses of worship across California and across faiths have been closed and moved their services online, some congregations have remained open and vocal about preserving their freedom to gather in person. In Sun Valley, Pastor John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church has been fighting the Los Angeles County Health Department in court and had been holding indoor church services in violation of county and state regulations.

California is the state with the highest number of COVID-19 cases so far — more than 884,000 as of Tuesday. On a per-capita basis, however, the state ranks 30th in cases. Los Angeles County has reported about 290,000 illnesses and 6,878 deaths. In Orange County, about 59,000 virus cases and 1,411 deaths have been reported.

Analia Anderson, one of the attendees, said she was there to support the pastors and believes churches and businesses should stay open. Anderson said she believes the coronavirus is not much more serious than the flu and shouldn’t even be called a pandemic.

“We have a governor, Newsom, who is acting like a child and having a hissy fit every time someone breaks his rules, which shouldn’t even be there in the first place,” she said. “The media is manipulating and controlling people with its narrative of fear.”