Pastors at two Camden County churches have been holding in-person services in violation of Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order banning indoor gatherings of more than 10 people amid the coronavirus pandemic. And they plan to keep doing so, despite being cited.
The pastors for Solid Rock Baptist Church in Berlin and Bible Baptist Church of Clementon were cited this week for services they held on Sunday, New Jersey State Police Captain Patrick Callahan said Tuesday during the daily briefing by state officials.
Bible Baptist Church reopened May 17. Solid Rock did this past Sunday.
“We are prepared to civilly disobey an unlawful and unjust order by our governor,” Bible Baptist Church Pastor Andy Reese said in a statement posted on the church’s website. “We are not looking for a fight, simply to exercise our faith and constitutional right freely.”
Since making the decision to reopen, the church has received “an overwhelming amount of support from people around the country and our state,” Reese said in the statement.
Reese did not respond immediately to a call for comment Wednesday.
The citations issued to Solid Rock did not come with a fine, Pastor Charles Clark, III said. But he and his father, Pastor Charles Clark, Jr., must appear in municipal court on July 6 to answer them.
“We plan to file our lawsuit before then,” Clark, III said.
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The lawsuit will be against Murphy and it will be aimed at getting churches put into the category of essential, he said. President Donald Trump last week asked the same of governors.
A spokesperson for Murphy told NJ Advance Media that religious services have been under “serious consideration” for Phase 2 of New Jersey’s reopening plan. For now, Murphy has only authorized drive-in services or outdoor ones with a limit of 25 people.
“He’s breaking the constitution, not us,” Clark, III said of Murphy’s restrictions on religious services. “We are not the lawbreakers.”
Reese, in his statement, and many other pastors have complained that people can go to places like Walmart and Home Depot but not church.
“We can care for people better than the box stores,” Clark, III said.
Solid Rock, which has an auditorium that holds about 1,000 people, is only filling it to about 25% of capacity. But the coronavirus precautions start even before worshipers get in the door. The church is only using every other parking space in the parking lot.
To be allowed inside the church, everyone must wear a face mask. The doors are propped open so no one has to touch them. Once inside, worshipers get their temperature taken at the door with a touch-less thermometer. Then, they’re seated, six feet apart, in every other pew. The church invested in air scrubbers and the bathroom rules are one person or one family at a time. And it’s sanitized after each use, Clark, III said.
“We’re going above the CDC’s recommended measures because just like people need their physical family, they need their church family,” Clark, III said. “They’re discouraged, depressed. They’ve been in isolation. They have economic problems.”
Bible Baptist Church has less stringent coronavirus protocols, according to its website. For example, everyone is only recommended to wear a face mask. But it is seating worshippers to abide by social distancing guidelines.
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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
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