Free Republic

When Gabriel Rench recounts being arrested in front of city hall in Moscow, Idado, while singing hymns with his church last September, one detail especially continues to irk him. “They literally took my hymn book away from me and proceeded to handcuff me,” Rench, 41, said of the officers, who then led him away to the county jail, where he remained for several hours. Moscow, a town of about 25,000 people approximately 80 miles south of Spokane, Washington, made national news last fall when local police arrested three people and cited five others for attending a “peaceful protest” against the...

Police in Moscow, Idaho, arrested three people Wednesday for violating social distancing rules as their church sang hymns and Bible psalms outdoors — an event held, in part, to protest the city mayor’s mask mandate, which runs to January 2021. Officers arrested Gabriel Rench, Rachel Bohnet, and Sean Bohnet, according to Moscow Report, a local independent news outlet. A video uploaded to social media shows Bohnet, a local music teacher, and his wife telling officers they refused to comply with an inaudible order. Moscow Report says the apparent infraction is that they refused to show identification. Footage of the couple’s...

The pastor of a 3,000-seat California church said he will stop fighting Santa Clara County and hold services in the church parking lot as per local COVID-19 guidelines after fines rose to over $112,000. The county said it will not forgive the fines. Jack Trieber, the pastor of North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, has chosen to obey the county’s directives banning indoor services, according to ABC7News. The church was being fined $5,000 for every service it held as well as fines for other violations such as singing. ABC7News reports that Trieber told his congregation in an outdoor meeting...

The Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction against Grace Community Church and Pastor John MacArthur that prohibits the church from "conducting, participating in, or attending any indoor worship services."

John MacArthur reads list of demands from California Govt.

On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled against Grace Community Church and its pastor, John MacArthur, issuing a preliminary injunction allowing Los Angeles County to ban indoor church services. MacArthur’s lawyers, Trump attorney Jenna Ellis and Thomas More Society lawyer Charles LiMandri, announced their intention to appeal at the earliest opportunity. “Although this is a temporary setback, we will continue to fight for Pastor MacArthur and Grace Community Church’s constitutionally protected right to hold church,” Ellis said in a statement. “Church is essential, and no government agent has the runaway, unlimited power to force churches to close indefinitely. The...

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued an order banning Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church from conducting, participating in or attending any indoor worship services. It is a stunning blow to religious liberty.

Pastors John MacArthur and Andy Stanley, who are both influential Christian leaders, presented dueling advice on how churches should respond to government restrictions amid the pandemic this week, with MacArthur urging pastors to open because the supposed need for indefinite lockdowns is a “lie,” while Stanley recommended cooperation. Both MacArthur, who leads Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and Stanley, who leads North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, shared their thoughts on the controversial issue during a Q Session discussion with moderator and Q Ideas founder Gabe Lyons on Wednesday. MacArthur, who's been locked in an ongoing public...

VENTURA, CA – California Pastor Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Thousand Oaks appeared before Judge Vincent O’Neill in Superior Court of Ventura County on Friday, August 21 and was held in contempt of court. Godspeak Calvary Chapel was fined $500 per three services, for two Sundays, or a total of $3,000. Pastor McCoy received an order from a Ventura state judge on Friday, August 7, banning the church’s in-person services. Superior Court Judge Matthew Guasco issued a temporary restraining order to Pastor Rob McCoy, the Church, and Does 1-1000, along with anyone “acting in concert with them” who...

‘The court correctly concluded that Los Angeles County’s renewed application for a temporary restraining order was both procedurally and substantively defective.’LOS ANGELES, August 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – After weeks of back and forth, the California Superior Court decided that the County of Los Angeles can no longer attempt to obtain a court order prohibiting a Christian megachurch from holding indoor worship services. Instead of granting a temporary restraining order against Grace Community Church led by renowned Pastor John MacArthur, Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff allowed the county to enforce its own health orders. MacArthur and his worship center are represented by...

A California pastor stands for religious freedom against Gov. Newsom’s Church restrictions. Last month, tyrannical California Governor Gavin Newsom renewed his statewide, draconian coronavirus lockdown, which includes the order that churches must cease all indoor activities. (The “peaceful protesters” of Black Lives Matter and Antifa, presumably, may continue to riot freely without social distancing restrictions). Pastor Greg Fairrington, the leader of the 3,500-member Destiny Christian Church outside Sacramento, is defying this threat to religious liberty by continuing to hold in-person services. “If we don’t take a stand, all we’re doing is kicking the can down the road and we will be having...

Video:"How wonderful! "Our God is greater than any government dictators who try to deny the people their 1st Amendment right to freely assemble in church to worship!"

In Nevada, you can’t have more than 50 people meet for a religious service. However, the state’s lifeblood — casinos — can operate at 50 percent capacity, a much less strict restriction. If you’re Evangelicals for Trump, there’s an easy workaround to that: Hold a church service in a Las Vegas casino. The event took place at the Ahern Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas on Thursday, according to Fox News. The venue is one of Vegas’ numerous facilities that combine hotel and convention space with casino facilities. Headlined by Trump spiritual adviser Paula White, the church service took...

As many of you know in the State of Nevada churches are not allowed to have more than 50 people in attendance however, casinos are allowed to operate at 50% capacity. In July, the Supreme Court ruled that Nevada is allowed to impose tighter restrictions on churches than casinos thanks to Chief Justice Roberts who sided with the liberal judges.

Evangelicals for Trump on Thursday held a campaign event at the Ahern Hotel and Convention Center, a joint hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Democrat Nevada Governor Sisolak in his recent Coronavirus order capped houses of worship at 50 people while casinos are allowed 50% capacity. “In Nevada, it seems, it is better to be in entertainment than religion,” Gorsuch wrote. “Maybe that is nothing new. But the First Amendment prohibits such obvious discrimination against the exercise of religion. The world we inhabit today, with a pandemic upon us, poses unusual challenges. But there is no world in which the...

A video of Christians meeting at Walmart, reportedly in North Versailles, Pennsylvania, has gone viral on the internet. The Christians were banned from meeting at their church thanks to Governor Wolf so they took to Walmart to come together in worship.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Secular elite are blasting a California priest for his traditional presentation of the Catholic faith. San Francisco mayor London Breed and Bay Area media are excoriating Fr. Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea parish in San Francisco, for encouraging his parishioners to attend Holy Mass — safely — during the California shutdown. Late last week, media source SFist accused Fr. Illo of making "a number of outrageously irresponsible statements that sound like they came from Fox News." One statement SFist found "outrageously irresponsible" was the priest's empirical observation that among the "thousands of people"...

An Ohio churchgoer sparked a coronavirus outbreak that spread to more than 90 other people after he attended a service, Gov. Mike DeWine said. The 56-year-old man, who was not identified, was infected with the virus when he attended church on June 14, news station WLWT reported. Following the service, the virus “spread like wildfire” and 91 people throughout five counties developed symptoms, DeWine said. “[It’s] very scary,” the Republican governor said during a Tuesday press conference, according to news station WKYC. DeWine said that he’s sending a letter to the state’s faith leaders to discuss better ways to protect...

More than 40 people have coronavirus after attending a week-long revival at a small north Alabama Baptist church last week, pastor Daryl Ross said today. Only two male members’ cases were serious, he said. “One respiratory, he almost got put in the hospital, but he’s OK,” Ross said. “The other one fought it off with two days in bed.” “The whole church has got it, just about,” Ross said, and that includes himself. Ross said he has tested positive but has few symptoms. The Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist Church is located in a small Marshall County community called Strawberry. It...

Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church by John MacArthur Friday, July 24, 2020 A Biblical Case for the Church’s Duty to Remain Open Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). He is also King of kings—sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Grace Community Church has always stood immovably on those biblical principles. As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture. Therefore we cannot and will not acquiesce to a government-imposed moratorium on our weekly...