City faith leaders divided on whether to reopen

State adds more than 2,300 new COVID-19 cases

A group of Chicago-area church leaders Saturday slammed President Donald Trump’s call to governors to allow churches to reopen for in-person services, even as other pastors said their churches would open their doors Sunday, despite local restrictions still in place.

The battle over church services marks the latest division in public opinion regarding when and how Illinois should reopen, even as the state Saturday added 2,352 new known cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, including 75 additional deaths.

The new cases brought the statewide total to 107,796, including 4,790 deaths, across 100 counties.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was joined by about a dozen pastors and other faith leaders in calling for local churches to remain closed until doctors and scientists deem it safe to gather in large numbers again.

“People are dying,” Jackson said during the afternoon webinar.

At a news conference Friday, Trump said state governors need to “do the right thing” and open houses of worship. Later, the CDC posted nonbinding guidance for faith institutions considering reopening, including use of masks and limiting the size of gatherings.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the president’s declaration “dangerous and foolish” and said the president has no power to override local restrictions, which still ban such gatherings. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state will continue to “operate on the basis of science and data.”

The coalition of pastors noted that COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed Chicago’s black community and emphasized that their churches are still performing essential services — just not in person.

“There is victory in the virtual service,” said Ozzie Smith, senior pastor at Covenant United Church of Christ in South Holland.

Bishop Sally Dyck of the United Methodist Church added that the church “has been opened this whole time,” just not in the building.

Still, the faith leaders cited challenges in communicating this to their congregations, especially as the issue has become increasingly politicized.

The Rev. James T. Meeks of Salem Baptist Church of Church said congregants have asked him why it’s safe to go out to grocery stores and other businesses deemed essential but not attend church.

“Ain’t nobody shouting at Walmart. Ain’t nobody singing at Walmart,” he said. “It is not the same kind of gathering.”

But earlier Saturday, in response to Trump’s statement the day before, two black community leaders urged Lightfoot to reopen churches for in-person services.

“We just want her to recognize our institution as being essential,” said Pervis Thomas, pastor of New Canaan Land Missionary Baptist Church in Englewood.

Thomas plans to hold services Sunday at his church, despite a risk of local citations. Chicago police fined three houses of worship $500 each after they held services last weekend.

Thomas said he knows of

other churches that are also planning on holding services Sunday.

“We just want to have a freedom of choice,” Thomas said. “We just feel the mayor is (overstepping).”

Thomas held in-person service last Sunday for the first time since the stay-athome order was implemented in March. About 10 people attended.

Thomas said his church will have hand sanitizer available, make use of masks and gloves, and encourage the elderly and people with preexisting conditions to stay home. There also will not be a choir.

Jimmy Lee Tillman, president of the Martin Luther King Republicans, echoed Thomas’s call for inperson service.

“We’re calling on the governor and the mayor to adhere to the president’s … guidelines,” Tillman said. “We feel we are breaking no laws.”

This conflict over inperson religious services comes as local officials still urge caution while the stayat-home order remains in place.

“Even though we are making progress, we really do continue to see many, many hundreds of cases,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, during a social media question-and-answer session.

“There is victory in the virtual service.” -- Ozzie Smith, senior pastor at Covenant United Church of Christ