Lodi churches plan return to indoor service
Gov. Newsom releases new guidelines in wake of Supreme Court striking down ban on indoor services — attendance still limited to 25% of capacity
Stephen Newman, executive pastor at First Baptist Church of Lodi, said members of the congregation were happy to return for indoor worship on Sunday.
While not all of the church’s more than 900 members were able to attend services, Newman said the Supreme Court’s recent overturning the state’s ban on indoor services was welcome news.
“It really makes sense,” Newman said Monday. “The restriction on churches was to not get together in a way that was inappropriate, while 10 people were allowed to sit inside a restaurant. I think the Justices saw how unreasonable that was.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office issued revised guidelines for indoor church services Saturday, one day after the court’s decision lifted the state’s ban on indoor worship during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, revised guidelines limit attendance at indoor services to 25% capacity in counties within the purple and red tiers of the California Health Department’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, and restrictions have been placed on singing and chanting to slow the spread of COVID-19.
For counties in the orange or yellow tiers, capacity is limited to 50%.
Newman said First Baptist has returned to its 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. services each Sunday, with seating inside the church’s Worship Center, Chapel and gymnasium to ensure congregants maintain social distancing while indoors.
“We think it’s important to keep church members and the community healthy,” Newman said. “And this will present a positive return that will preserve that health, as well as adhere to guidelines set by the state.”
In order to allow congregants to hear services in all three locations, church staff was able to connect new television screens and monitors together with extensive rewiring to each room.
Newman said staff also removed several chairs to ensure members are spaced at least six feet apart. Masks will also be required as members enter and leave the buildings.
Services will still be streamed online for those unable to meet in person, whether it’s due to seating capacity restrictions, illness or employment conflicts, Newman said.
In a media statement released over the weekend, Bishop Myron
J. Cotta of the Catholic Diocese of Stockton, said while the church was pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling, it would not downplay the seriousness of the pandemic.
“We will be returning to indoor services, not only because of this ruling but also because we know that it can be done safely,” Cotta said. “There have been thousands if not millions of safe celebrations of the Mass throughout the country over the past months since indoor Masses have resumed. We are still not aware of a single outbreak occurring at a Catholic Mass where safety protocols were being strictly followed, even when an asymptomatic individual was present who later tested positive for COVID-19.”
To keep Mass in every Catholic church free of COVID-19, Cotta is asking his priests to continue providing outdoor services in order to accommodate greater numbers of congregants, where practical.
Outdoor services would allow for singing during Mass, and provide for those still not comfortable with returning indoors, he said.
While parishes may begin indoor Masses this weekend, Cotta also encouraged priests to continue livestreaming services to accommodate vulnerable church members.
Chandler Marquez, communications director for the Diocese, said St. Anne’s in Lodi held outdoor Mass on Sunday, as there was no time to prepare for a return to indoors. The church will continue to provide daily outdoor Mass until Friday, he said.
Next Sunday, St. Anne’s will offer two outdoor services and two indoor services, Marquez said.
Last Friday, the Supreme Court declared its ruling after two Southern California churches — South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and Pasadena-based Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry — argued the state’s ban on indoor services violated First Amendment rights regarding religious freedoms.
California implemented the ban because health experts have determined COVID-19 is spread more easily through indoor gatherings. In addition, health experts have said singing can spread the virus through tiny droplets of saliva.
Since the beginning of the pandemic last March, Newsom’s office has said restrictions on indoor services are meant to protect worshippers from infection.
“We will continue to enforce the restrictions the Supreme Court left in place and, after reviewing the decision, we will issue revised guidelines for worship services to continue to protect the lives of Californians,” the governor’s press secretary, Daniel Lopez, said in a statement.
David Cortman, vice president and senior counsel of the Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a media statement that the justices indicated that other restrictions on religious gatherings may face additional legal and constitutional hurdles.
“The Supreme Court’s decision is a significant win for ensuring that government officials do not exceed their authority by bypassing the First Amendment when implementing coronavirus restrictions,” he said. “Gov. Newsom has a duty to respect the First Amendment, so he can’t single out church worship services and other religious meetings for the draconian COVID-19 restrictions that many secular activities haven’t faced in California. The Supreme Court is reinforcing what it has affirmed in previous orders: Disparate treatment is both illogical and unconstitutional.”
However, legal experts last year found that Newsom’s restrictions were constitutionally legal, as while churches are protected by the First Amendment, they do not have legal standing against stay-at-home orders issued by a governor or county in times of emergencies, including a global pandemic.
One local house of worship that will not be returning to in-person services immediately is St. John’s Episcopal Church on South Lower Sacramento Road.
Rev. Peter Ackerman said the last time restrictions were lifted on churches, the Episcopal Diocese elected not to rush to in-person services out of an abundance of caution. He said it appears the Diocese might take that route again.
“Out first thought is that we won’t have in-person services until (the county) goes to the red tier, and then we’ll let 25% in,” Ackerman said. “We won’t push it. We just believe in being careful, and we’re going to provide the safest experience we can for our members.”
In order to advance to the red tier, the county’s new case rate must be less than 7 cases per 100,000 residents, and its test positivity and health equity rates must be less than 8%.
As of Monday, the county’s new case rate was 40 per 100,000 residents, and its positivity rate was 10.9%. Its health equity rate was 13.2%.
San Joaquin County was one of 54 counties in the state still in the purple tier. Mariposa County was the lone jurisdiction in the red tier, while Alpine, Sierra and Trinity counties were all in the orange tier Monday.