Essay: Can churches be protectors of public health?
US scholar of Christianity ANDREW GARDNER – in an article first published on The Conversation – looks at how churches have navigated past health crises and how that might help us better understand the present…
Texans will vote in November on whether governments can limit religious services
RNS Texas voters will decide on Election Day whether state and local governments can impose limits on religious services, such as the public health orders that shut down houses of worship and businesses earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic. If voters approve the measure, known as Proposition 3, it would add a clause to the Texas Constitution […]
In Australia, Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop welcomes return to church “for all”
Sydney, Australia The leader of Sydney’s Anglican Church has welcomed a New South Wales Government announcement detailing the way out of lockdown as vaccination milestones are achieved. From the Monday after Australia’s largest state hits the 80 per cent (aged 16 and over) double dose vaccination target, eased restrictions will allow anyone – those who […]
Some California churches hold indoor services after ruling
Los Angeles, USAP Some California churches opened their doors to worshippers on Sunday, after the state revised its guidelines for houses of prayer following a US Supreme Court ruling that lifted a ban on indoor services during the coronavirus pandemic. “This morning we declare that this house will be a house of freedom,” announced Pastor […]
In the US, a judge refuses to toss case against defiant Louisiana pastor
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USAP A judge has refused to toss out six criminal complaints filed against a Louisiana pastor charged with violating coronavirus gathering capacity rules put in place during the early days of the pandemic. Nineteenth Judicial District Judge Eboni Johnson-Rose on Monday dismissed pastor Tony Spell’s motion to have the case against him […]
US Supreme Court won’t hear Nevada church’s COVID-19 case
Reno, Nevada AP The US Supreme Court on Monday refused a rural Nevada church’s request to enter a legal battle over the government’s authority to limit the size of religious gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic – after the church won an appeals court ruling last month that found Nevada’s restrictions unconstitutional. Attorneys general from 19 […]
Nevada church presses US Supreme Court on COVID-19 limits
Reno, Nevada, USAP A rural Nevada church wants the US Supreme Court to weigh in on a legal battle over the government’s authority to limit the size of religious gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic even after the church won an appeals court ruling that found Nevada’s restrictions unconstitutional. Attorneys general from 19 other states recently […]
US court upholds religious challenges of NY pandemic limits
New YorkAP A US federal appeals court on Monday upheld challenges to New York state’s attendance restrictions at houses of worship to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s order limiting attendance at places of worship with fixed capacity in hotspots “discriminates […]
California church sees victory in order from US Supreme Court
Los Angeles, USAP Lawyers for a church with more than 160 congregations across California said they would seek an immediate court order on Thursday allowing indoor worship after the US Supreme Court told a lower federal court to re-examine state coronavirus restrictions on church services. The apparent victory for Pasadena-based Harvest Rock Church and Harvest […]
US pastor who has defied COVID-19 orders will face new hearing in November
Los Angeles, USRNS The same state social-distancing measures that have ensnarled Rev John MacArthur in legal proceedings for his refusal to close his church have now delayed a reckoning for the Sun Valley, California, pastor, as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Thursday scheduled a hearing until mid-November. County officials, in a statement, […]