Reader believes church, pastor owed an apology

Editor: Being that the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Gov. Newsom’s order to shutter churches was unconstitutional, I wonder if you will be submitting an apology to the members of Cross Culture Christian Center and their Pastor Jon Duncan.

Your editorial in March of 2020 stated, “There’s seeking guidance from God, and then there’s following the foolish and dangerous directive of a misguided man. For one local congregation, Cross Culture Christian Center, the latter holds true.”

Truly God chooses the “foolish” things of this world to confound the wise.

Turns out, even in “extraordinary times,” as you put it then, the Constitution and its protection of the free exercise of religion doesn’t take a back seat.

This stand was not an ego trip or a childish stamping of feet as you made it out to be. It was a stand for the religious freedom and a standard-bearing in the face of a targeted attack on the free exercise under the guise of public safety.

If it was for public safety, then Walmart, Costco, and other “big-box” stores would have been shuttered as well. But no, churches already following public health guidelines were met with police and told they could not meet, while the mall, big-box chains, casinos, and abortion clinics were given no such order.

If Pastor Duncan had not stood against this unconstitutional order, the government would have free reign to bench the Constitution under the pandemic precedent. The separation of church and state was set for the protection of the church, and the government overstepped their bounds in this decision.

I wonder whether Lodi City Council will issue a public apology for their partnership with the Governor to enforce an unconstitutional order?

I wonder if the Lodi Police Department will offer an apology to Officer Duncan for firing him over his refusal to shut down churches and businesses?

I won’t hold my breath for these apologies, but I hope many will see now that you don’t mess with the Constitution of the United States of America, and you definitely don’t mess with God.

JENNY MILLER Lodi