Grace Community Church Retains Lawyers After Cease-And-Desist
SUN VALLEY, CA — A local church is fighting back against the ongoing ban against indoor gatherings that prohibits churches from assembling in person. Grace Community Church says city leaders have "exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction," and that they've gathered lawyers as they consider taking legal action.
Grace says the City of Los Angeles threatened the church and its pastor, John MacArthur, with a $1000 daily fine or arrest if they continue to hold services.
"Major public events that were planned for 2021 are already being canceled, signaling that officials are preparing to keep restrictions in place into next year and beyond," the pastor wrote in a widely shared post titled 'Christ, not Caesar, is head of the church.' "That forces churches to choose between the clear command of our Lord and the government officials. Therefore, following the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, we gladly choose to obey Him."
The church has also created an online petition for visitors to voice their support.
Grace Community Church holds service at a 3,500 seat auditorium, and weekly attendance before the pandemic was roughly 8,000 according to Christianity Today. The CDC cites large gatherings as highest risk for the spread of the coronavirus, and recommends all such gatherings be cancelled to minimize transmission.
Governor Newsom ordered places of worship within counties on the state's monitoring list to cease indoor worship on July 13, as COVID-19 cases surged higher than officials had anticipated after beginning to reopen California.
"As a consequence of increased positivity rate, increased hospitalizations and ICUs, based upon the foundation that we laid on utilizing this dimmer switch, today we are announcing additional actions as it relates to our stay-at home order," Newsom said in a press conference at the time of the news.
On Sunday morning, Pastor MacArthur held another packed service where he likened his sermon to a "peaceful protest," drawing prolonged applause from the audience.
Grace Community Church initially cancelled in-person worship services after the March stay-at-home order, citing worrisome death projections and a lack of knowledge of the coronavirus. Now, however, they say the city is using the pandemic as a front to impede the progress of the church.
“Pastor MacArthur and Grace Community Church are not disobeying the Constitution," said Jenna Ellis, an attorney representing Grace Community Church who also serves as senior legal advisor to the Trump 2020 campaign. "It is California’s Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Eric Garcetti that are defying their constitutional obligation to protect religious freedom and church assembly."
This article originally appeared on the North Hollywood-Toluca Lake Patch
