Court: Santa Clara County to allow indoor worship services
State’s lone holdout county reverses earlier stance that kept churches’ doors closed
Three days after telling places of worship to keep their doors closed and pews empty until further notice regardless of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling saying they could reopen, the state’s only holdout — Santa Clara County — has relented under special order.
In a statement issued at about 9 p.m. Monday, Santa Cara County announced that because of a temporary order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued that evening, indoor worship services could resume after all, although at 20% of normal capacity.
Santa Clara
County Counsel
James Williams said he was “disappointed” by the temporary order of the federal district court.
“COVID-19 continues to pose a
serious risk in our community, and unfortunately no court decision can decree otherwise,” Williams said in a statement. “The County has consistently had a legal framework for its health orders that respects wellestablished constitutional precedent.”
County Health Officer Sara Cody “strongly discouraged” any indoor gatherings, including indoor worship services, “given the current significant risk to the entire community from these gatherings,” the statement read.
The county’s late-night announcement comes amid an ongoing legal battle with Calvary Chapel, a San Jose church that has racked up nearly $2 million in fines for allegedly flouting social distancing, masking and other public health guidelines. It
also comes three days after the Supreme Court ordered California to roll back its outright ban on indoor worship, a mandate that Santa Clara County initially said didn’t apply to it.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s strict order banning indoor religious services appeared to violate the Constitution’s protection of the free exercise of religion. But the high court also said the state could still limit attendance to 25% of building capacity and prohibit singing and chanting. It’s unclear at this time why Santa Clara County is restricting the indoor capacity to 20% instead of the state’s 25% limit.
Unlike the state, Santa Clara County never issued an outright ban on religious services. It did, however, prohibit all indoor gatherings — regardless of whether they’re related to religion. And that’s the distinction the county made to
justify its position — up until about 9 p.m. Monday.
When asked why the county would allow schools to reopen but not churches, Williams said schools follow “a specific stable cohort requirement, which is a different situation than the types of things that fall under the gathering rules.”
State guidance on school reopenings states that teachers and students should be kept in small cohorts where they share the same space with the same people each day and avoid interaction with others who are in the school but part of different groups.
The county’s stance had riled up religious leaders across Santa Clara County who said it was punishing people of religion.
Gregory Bork, the lead pastor at Apostles Lutheran Church in San Jose, said Monday afternoon before news of the district court’s order broke out that he planned to abide by the
county rules but believed the county was sorely misled.
“Most people are safer outside but there are some people who would like to worship inside,” Bork said. “And it’s not just a matter of want. I believe the science shows that it is safe if you follow the guidelines.”
“We did everything that they suggested, and it seemed to be very safe,” Bork said. “I just wish that the county would realize that there are spiritual issues that lead to people’s emotional and behavioral issues as well, and the church helps with that, and so it’s valuable when we can gather.”
During his outside sermon Sunday night, Jack Trieber, lead pastor of North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, told his congregants that he was “going to do everything possible to ring the doorbell that we’re not happy with this decision.”
“We elected the governor,
but we did not elect the health officer. One person is telling 2 million people that they cannot go to church,” Trieber said. “... I warn the people of this county, you cannot raise your hand against the church and get away with it.”
Elsewhere across the Bay Area, county health officers on Monday confirmed to their religious leaders that they were following the new state regulation and allowing places of worship to resume with indoor services at 25% of normal capacity. Still, they urged participants to tread carefully.
After nearly a year of relying solely on virtual and outdoor services, Bishop Bob Jackson of Acts Full Gospel Church in Oakland was still celebrating the Supreme Court ruling on Monday afternoon.
“I’m ecstatic. It’s gonna be a hallelujah good time,” Jackson said. “We will miss out on the singing and the chanting, but we’re willing to do just about whatever we have to do to make sure our members are able to come together again and stay safe from this coronavirus.”
The sanctuary at Acts Full Gospel Church can hold up to 4,000 people at full capacity, which means it could potentially see 1,000 worshipers when it opens at 25% capacity. Jackson said his team is starting to pin down the logistics of the church’s reopening plan to ensure a safe environment. He imagines it will take a couple of weeks before it offers its first indoor service.
Yet even with the new freedoms, some places of worship are taking a more metered approach.
Pastor Kim Risedorph of San Ramon Valley United Methodist Church in Alamo said she’s going to continue to look at the COVID-19 cases and vaccination statistics weekly and decide when it might be best to open back up for indoor services.