CHULA VISTA, Calif. — A San Diego County church played a major role in the Supreme Court’s decision to allow California churches to reopen in a limited capacity. South Bay United Pentecostal Church filed the lawsuit against the state that then reached the highest court in the nation.
Bishop Hodges told News 8 that he’s pleased with the Court’s decision but he also says for months, the Pentecostal Church across the state has gone above and beyond to follow CDC guidelines.
In the 6 to 3 decision handed down on Friday, the US Supreme Court ruled that California could no longer ban indoor church services. South Bay Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista filed the original lawsuit asserting the church’s religious freedom to gather. Bishop Arthur Hodges III said, “This latest ruling coming from the Supreme Court is a resounding victory frankly, for religious liberty in California.”
Charles LiMandri, whose firm represents the Church, says he argued that churches shouldn’t be held to a different standard as other venues are allowed to remain open.
“They can’t treat churches in a less favorable manner than secular organizations and activities. So basically, if retail stores are open at 25% capacity which is the case now in California, there’s no reason why the church can’t be open at 25% capacity, which is what the court held based upon what we argued,” LiMandri said.
He also says there was very little solid data that proved churches were the cause of major COVID-19 outbreaks.
“Basically since May, there have been very few incidents of reported problems with churches, certainly no more so than any other places including supermarkets or museums or anywhere else people gather when they were open,” LiMandri said.
The Supreme Court also ruled that the state can still limit the attendance at churches and synagogues and prohibit singing and chanting for now. Bishop Hodges says the ruling allows churches to be treated like other essential places that remained open during the pandemic. “It takes away the threat of doing something illegal and being fined or the threat of being arrested. So that’s huge, that’s huge for our church and for all churches,” said Hodges.
Bishop Hodges says United Pentecostal churches in California have been required to follow CDC guidelines during service, including requesting negative test results from members who have previously tested positive for COVID-19. “We have the name of every single person that walks through the door. We have a security team in place that asks CDC questions and more. If you’ve been exposed to anyone in the last 14 days, you cannot come into the service.”
The Bishop also said that Friday’s ruling was only one part of the case they filed. They’re still waiting for the Supreme Court to make more permanent rulings about church services in the midst of a pandemic.
