One hundred churches are now holding in-church services and they are following strict social distancing rules. Nonetheless, they didn’t follow all of them.
Chicago has begun fining churches for holding services that do not comply with the tyrannical Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order. The Chicago Police Department told Fox News that three churches will be hit with penalties for services held on Sunday, May 17.
Pritzker decided religious services were nonessential. He said Philadelphia Romanian must meet his 13 arbitrary requirements. Participants had to be younger than 65 years for one thing.
The fines are $500, Fox News was told. Mayor Lori Lightfoot says it’s dangerous and she ordered the fines.
COMMUNISM?
Pastor Florin Cimpean of the Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Ravenswood said, “The church is a spiritual hospital, okay. We help people with their spiritual needs, emotional needs. And this church is much safer than any other open space like Home Depot, Costco, any type of store,” he commented.
Cimpean, who grew up in Soviet-controlled Romania, added that the church served an immigrant community that survived communism in the past and felt it was threatening their freedoms once again.
“All of these restrictions, they sound more like communism,” he said at an event outside the Thompson Center on Thursday.
“Not even communists were able to completely shut down churches,” Cimpean stated. “We are essential. The spiritual, emotional and mental impact of this [coronavirus] will probably be greater long-term than the medical one.”
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THEY DID FOLLOW SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES
The Philadelphia Romanian Church of God limited its congregation to 75 people on Sunday — less than 10 percent of its capacity. Nevertheless, they were among the houses of worship fined by Chicago for its weekend services.
One of Pritzker’s rules is only 10 people can go to church.
Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and Metro Praise International were also fined for their Sunday services.
“I know how hard it is to break from traditional celebrations of togetherness. But I believe passionately that adapting our expressions of faith in these times is one of the most faithful acts of all,” Pritzker said in a tweet in mid-April.
He added: “The virus doesn’t take a day off, and it’s important for all of you to have the facts, so I’ll continue to deliver them.”
Pritzker earlier this month gave a dire warning on the spread of the virus during the briefing on his state’s reopening plan, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“I know that we all have a passionate desire to return to the sense of normalcy that we felt before the world knew of COVID-19. Here’s the truth. And I don’t like it any more than you do,” he said. “Until we have a vaccine, or an effective treatment, or enough widespread immunity that new cases fail to materialize, the option of returning to normalcy doesn’t exist.”
Why does he have the right to decide church is nonessential? Many people believe it is essential. Liquor stores, which are heavily taxed, are essential, but not churches?
A number of other churches in Illinois have filed lawsuits arguing that the limits Pritzker places on houses or worship are unconstitutional.
Pritzker should be hauled off to jail for violating the Constitution.
NEIGHBORS PROTESTED THE CHURCHES
The decision didn’t sit well with neighbors who are following the rules, and staged a protest outside the church on Sunday.
The protesters said they have had enough, and believe the church is breaking the law and putting everyone at risk, especially in a neighborhood where there is a higher than average positivity rate for COVID-19.
Well, it isn’t the ‘law.’ No one voted for it. It’s a rule and religious people feel church services are essential.
Some neighborhood residents held a drive-by protest as the Metro Praise International Church flouted the state’s stay-at-home order and welcomed dozens of worshippers for a second straight Sunday.
As drivers blared their horns, one passenger leaned out of a car window and held up a rain-soaked sign that encapsulated the demonstrators’ overarching message: “NOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.”
People are very empowered to violate the rights of others, but whose rights prevail?
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