Church raises voices at City Hall to protest singing ban

Victory Outreach congregants gather for a service full of songs

SAN JOSE >> The 400-member church congregation hadn’t gathered in person for five months.

Conceding to California restrictions that closed churches early in the COVID-19 pandemic and later severely limited attendance indoors, churchgoers have been gathering on Zoom and FaceTime because, as they said, “God is everywhere.”

But when Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed another ban on religious services — no singing allowed indoors — Victory Outreach San Jose had had enough.

“To say you can’t sing, that’s the time out,” said Victory Outreach Pastor Joe Woolwine. “For us, it’s not singing, it’s worship.”

On Sunday, in an act of protest and togetherness, several hundred members of Victory Outreach and other Christian congregations gathered at San Jose City Hall plaza and, with the house jazz band playing on the steps, sang out.

Wearing masks and spreading out 6 feet apart, a lively group swayed, clapped and sang “in the name of Jesus, enemy defeated, we will shout it out.”

In late May, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a claim by a church in Chula Vista that the restrictions on religious gatherings were unconstitutional. On July 16, churches in Fort Bragg, Ukiah and Oroville filed a federal lawsuit claiming their First Amendment rights were also violated and made the case that while Newsom has protected protesters’ freedom of speech, he hadn’t given the same protection to church members.

In the midst of Sunday’s singing service at City Hall — replete with a 10-member choir and thundering testimonials — Vince Strangis made a similar argument.

“When you see everyone else going to the grocery store and

everything else being essential but to worship, it’s disheartening,” Strangis said.

To church volunteer Mitzi Magos, a ban on singing is deeply emotional.

“It’s our personal and spiritual declaration,” Magos said, “and it’s the way we express our love for God.”

At the start of Sunday’s outdoor service, Pastor Woolwine instructed everyone to wear their masks and spread out because “I don’t want anyone to get sick.”

For this multicultural congregation that reaches out to people struggling with addiction and crime, he said the loss of togetherness has been especially painful.

“To not have a service, what happens to them?” he asked. “We’re at the point where the risk of doing nothing is greater” than the risk of the coronavirus.

A number of church services across the country have sparked outbreaks over the past several months, often due to the projection of voices and the spewing of the virus that can go with it. On Sunday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a Catholic church held a secret wedding ceremony in June for 100 people, also leading to an outbreak.

But on Sunday in the San Jose plaza, the crowd reveled in their reunion.

“You can feel the energy in the air,” Woolwine said.

Strangis, who has been a member of the Victory Outreach church for 33 years, says watching services on FaceTime for months has “been trying.”

“We know He’s in our midst when we’re online,” he said, “but it’s not like here.”