A group of churches across the country and the world – including four in Idaho – are beginning to push back against stay at home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) oversees more than 100 churches worldwide. Earlier this week, the presiding minister of the group, Virgil Hurt, wrote an open letter to lawmakers in the U.S. and abroad, saying the time to open up for business is now.
“The pandemic is not what we all thought it was going to be,” Hurt said. “It is now clear that the stated rationale for these temporary, emergency actions, 'to flatten the curve,' has been achieved, and that these temporary measures are no longer necessary.”
“In our churches, we have few Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations or deaths. However, we have many people whose ability to support the lives of their families has been greatly damaged through the loss of wages and damage to their businesses.”
While a date has not been determined, Hurt said his churches will no longer comply with these orders in the coming “days or weeks," not months.
“If this were a great plague, a direct threat to the health and lives of all of our congregants, as many of us initially thought it was, we would be glad to continue to comply with reasonable measures to mitigate the spread. However, it is now clear that it is not the plague and we are not prepared to continue to comply with extreme mitigation efforts.”
Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) extended the state’s stay at home order until April 30, while allowing some previously “nonessential” businesses to re-open. He’s facing increasing backlash from legislative leaders and an open call to “disobey” the order from some far-right groups.
Christ Church and Trinity Reform Church in Moscow, both of which are CREC members, did not return calls seeking comment on the letter from the Moscow Pullman Daily News on Wednesday.
Christ Church’s pastor, Doug Wilson, has been outspoken against these orders and said the church’s elders recently adopted a policy that found no government can forbid all worship across the board.
But Pastor Alan Burrow of the King’s Congregation in Meridian says his church intends to continue following Little’s extended order. The congregation livestreams services, but will be doing curbside communion where congregants stay in their vehicles.
Trinity Church in Coeur d’Alene also said it would continue offering online worship.
At least one other church in Idaho unaffiliated with CREC has held services in violation of the order, though it suspended in-person worship the following week.
Anyone who violates the order could be charged with a misdemeanor, leading to a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, though it’s unclear whether anyone has been cited for the offense so far.
Some other religious leaders across the country have repeatedly ignored such orders in their respective states. Rev. Tony Spell has been cited at least six times for continuing to hold services at his Louisiana church.
A lawyer representing Spell, who had attended recent services at the church, was hospitalized with COVID-19.
Houses of worship have proven to be potential petri dishes for the coronavirus.
Earlier this month, more than 70 members of a Sacramento church were diagnosed with the disease. While church officials stopped holding their main service, members continued to meet at each other’s’ homes, county officials told the Sacramento Bee – something the church denies.
A mass outbreak among a South Korean religious group infected hundreds of its followers in February.
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