Church plans to defy stay-home order
Calvary Chapel, despite accruing more than $1M in fines, planned Christmas Eve service
A South Bay church that has repeatedly defied shelter-in-place orders and racked up more than $1 million in fines — while accepting more than $340,000 in federal pandemic aid — was set to have an indoor Christmas Eve service during California’s worst coronavirus surge yet.
Calvary Chapel, located in San
Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, has been at the center of a standoff with the county for months for hosting large, mask-free indoor services in violation of health directives. In October, the county sued the church, prompting Santa Clara County Superior Court to issue an injunction and later rule the church in contempt of court for repeated infractions.
Chapel leadership shows no signs of letting up, with plans to host an indoor service on Christmas Eve, according to its website. As recently as Sunday, head Pastor Mike McClure was recorded in a livestream, maskless and flanked by Christmas trees, delivering a sermon inside the Hillsdale Avenue sanctuary.
“It’s beyond disappointing, frankly,” County Counsel James Williams said Wednesday. “The situation there is shameful … We will continue to pursue enforcement against their lawbreaking activities. There are real consequences.”
At the same time, the church has taken a payout of about
$340,400 from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, a federal program that aims to help organizations — including churches — stay afloat during the pandemic. The money has supported 70 employees to keep Calvary Chapel operating, according to records.
Word of the loan was first reported by this news organization’s media partner
ABC7News. Williams could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Robert Tyler, an attorney with Advocates for Faith & Freedom, which is representing the church, said in an email: “The church has the constitutional right to worship. Our founding fathers gave us the First Amendment for times such as this. We are heading to higher courts and expect a positive outcome in the near future. For many, the solace of a worship service at Christmas is exceedingly important, especially at a
time when the future is so uncertain.”
Starting in May, the church reopened indoor services for up to 600 people at a time despite shelter-in-place rules, according to the county’s original October complaint. Photos, videos and eyewitness accounts revealed flagrantly unsafe conditions, according to the county, with attendees packed close together, sometimes singing, without face coverings. The fines resulting from the continuing violations amounted to $1,191,750 as
of Thursday, said County CEO Jeff Smith.
Local law enforcement was not expected to be at the church for its 5 p.m. service, Smith told the Bay Area News Group in a text, saying that the county still was trying to get the church to comply without the use of physical force.
Church leadership — including McClure — contend that they have instituted social distancing inside the 1,900-person building and made masks available. The church also has painted the dispute in terms of religious
liberty, arguing that places of worship have been unfairly targeted throughout the pandemic.
“There comes a point when you say, ‘I cannot obey man’s word, because God’s word trumps man’s word,’ ” McClure said in a recent interview posted on YouTube. “We have leaders that are discouraging any kind of worship … there’s animosity toward God.”
With new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations sweeping the state, Santa Clara County has remained the epicenter of infections in the Bay Area, with nearly 60,000 cases recorded over the course of the pandemic and 632 deaths. On Wednesday, officials reported 1,286 new cases and 17 deaths as the number of intensive care unit hospital beds empty dwindled to just 35.
That dire reality, Williams said, makes the church’s actions all the more dangerous. “By choosing to do what they are doing, they are putting everyone’s lives in this community at risk, and that’s just shameful,” Williams said.