{"id":1326,"date":"2020-05-15T12:45:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T16:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=1326"},"modified":"2020-09-17T11:50:05","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T15:50:05","slug":"vp-mike-pence-trump-administration-will-protect-churches-during-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2020\/05\/vp-mike-pence-trump-administration-will-protect-churches-during-pandemic.html","title":{"rendered":"VP Mike Pence: Trump Administration Will ‘Protect Churches’ During Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mike
Mike Pence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vice President Mike Pence says he supports a Virginia church in its legal battle against the governor for restrictions against houses of worship.<\/p>\n

A Virginia church is in a legal battle against the governor for impost restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis, and Vice President Mike Pence is supporting them.<\/p>\n

The pastor of Lighthouse Fellowship Church of Chincoteague was issued a criminal citation for holding a 16-person church service on Palm Sunday inside a 225-seat sanctuary. The church is suing the state in federal court. Each attendee reportedly sat at least six feet apart and followed health guidelines.<\/p>\n

Orders by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam restrict mass gatherings to 10 people during the coronavirus pandemic and has so for over a month.<\/p>\n

Pence said he backs a Department of Justice Statement of Interest urging the court to issue an injunction favoring the church. He and the Department \u201cstrongly agree\u201d that \u201ceven in the midst of a national emergency, every American enjoys our cherished liberties, including the freedom of religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the very idea that the Commonwealth of Virginia would sanction a church for having 16 people come to a Psalm Sunday service when \u2026 the church actually seats about 250 was just beyond the pale,\u201d Pence told The Brian Kilmeade Show. \u201cAnd I’m truly grateful for Attorney General [William] Barr standing by religious liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration, Pence said, will \u201cstand by men and women of faith of every religion in this country and\u2026even in this challenging time, [will] protect their freedom of religion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The church in Chincoteague isn’t the only one that is hopeful that Northam will make some more changes. Nearly 200 pastors have signed a letter to the governor asking him to modify his orders. They wish for churches to allow, at minimum, weekly gatherings by religious organizations, \u201cprovided reasonable public-health precautions are taken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many churches are already looking at what they can do to help slow the spread, like disinfecting hard surfaces, abstaining from physical contact, providing sanitizer to attendees, requiring six feet of distance between individuals, encouraging the sick and vulnerable to stay home, and closing nurseries and Sunday School classes. This \u201cwould fulfill the Executive Orders\u2019 goal of protecting public health while also permitting us to satisfy our religious obligations and serve the spiritual needs of our communities,\u201d the letter says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese gatherings are one of the means God uses to heal and restore our souls \u2013 they are part of God\u2019s treatment plan for the spiritually sick,\u201d the letter reads. \u201cThe longer the government bars Christians from meeting, the more damage is done to the spiritual well-being of Virginians in need of spiritual care during this difficult time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause corporate worship is central to the Christian life, it is extraordinary for churches to forego meeting for even a single Sunday,\u201d the letter says. \u201cThus, with each passing week that corporate worship is banned, as churches stand ready to implement reasonable public-health precautions, the government pushes Christians closer to the point where they must choose to sin against God and conscience or violate the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter sent earlier this week comes right before Northam gave his phase one reopening plan for the state which went into effect on Friday, May 15th. He mentioned that places of worship will be able to have services with a 50% indoor capacity<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vice President Mike Pence says he supports a Virginia church in its legal battle against the governor for restrictions against houses of worship. A Virginia church is in a legal battle against the governor for impost restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis, and Vice President Mike Pence is supporting them. The pastor of Lighthouse Fellowship…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":600,"featured_media":1341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,140],"tags":[143,664,759],"class_list":["post-1326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news","category-church","tag-church","tag-covid-19","tag-pandemic"],"yoast_head":"\nVP Mike Pence: Trump Administration Will 'Protect Churches' During Pandemic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As religious groups try to still hold services during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vice President Mike Pence vowed to protect churches and their religious freedom.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2020\/05\/vp-mike-pence-trump-administration-will-protect-churches-during-pandemic.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VP Mike Pence: Trump Administration Will 'Protect Churches' During Pandemic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As religious groups try to still hold services during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vice President Mike Pence vowed to protect churches and their religious freedom.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2020\/05\/vp-mike-pence-trump-administration-will-protect-churches-during-pandemic.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Christ News Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-15T16:45:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" 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