Tag: COVID-19

It’s Time to Reopen America’s Churches

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, PoliticsLeave a comment

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24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  (Hebrews 10:24-25)

TheHill.com reports that

U.S. District Judge Greg Van Tatenhove issued a temporary restraining order Friday evening against Beshear’s ban on large gatherings at “any in-person religious service which adheres to applicable social distancing and hygiene guidelines,” The Associate Press reported.

The ruling will allow Tabernacle Baptist Church in Nicholasville, Ky., which filed the lawsuit, to meet in person during services Sunday. The ruling also applies to any other Kentucky congregation.  

Two other federal judges had previously ruled that Beshear’s ban was constitutional.

The news comes following a ruling by U.S. District Judge David Hale on Friday that granted Maryville Baptist Church the option to hold in-person services. The ruling only applied to that specific church, and it had to abide by public health requirements, according to the AP. 

Beshear previously announced that Kentucky religious organizations will be allowed to hold in-person services beginning on May 20 as part of a plan to begin reopening the state’s economy.

Earlier on Friday, the southern governor said places of worship would have to limit attendance at in-person services to one-third of building occupancy and have worshippers keep a 6-foot distance between households, according to the news source. 

Beshear’s office released a list of requirements that churches should follow while reopening, like observing social distancing and to “consider taking congregants’ temperatures,” among other measures, the Lexington Herald Leader reported. 

Van Tatenhove said Beshear had “an honest” motive in seeking to stem the spread of the virus, but he did not provide “a compelling reason for using his authority to limit a citizen’s right to freely exercise something we value greatly — the right of every American to follow their conscience on matters related to religion,” according to the news source.

“The Constitution will endure. It would be easy to put it on the shelf in times like this, to be pulled down and dusted off when more convenient,” Van Tatenhove’s opinion said. “But that is not our tradition. Its enduring quality requires that it be respected even when it is hard.” 

The church has said that it will follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and social distancing practices, according to the AP.

During a Saturday press conference, Beshear called for congregations to “take your time” in reopening and follow guidelines from health officials, the Lexington Herald Leader reported.

“Be careful. Make sure that you do it right,” Beshear said. “Don’t come back just to come back.”

As a Christian who presently attends church via Internet Streaming, thanks to the COVID-19 Lockdown in Mississippi, the state in which I live, I fully understand the desire to return to our church buildings.

I mean, if restaurants, barbershops, and salons can re-open, why can’t the Meeting Houses of God’s people?

It would be a shame if the most stubborn of state politicians (usually Democratic Governors in Blue States) would continue their lockdown of Christian Churches simply out of spite and their need to control Christians.

Could you imagine Christian Americans having to meeting in secret, like Christian American Contractors working in Saudi Arabia have to meet secretly in fellow believers’ homes?

How would we contact each other to tell everyone where service was being held that week?

Send a group text of a picture of a fish and the address?

Our governor, Tate Reeves, has stated that as of Monday, our churches may hold “Drive-in” style services.

The problem with that is the fact that it is impossible to shake hands, hug, and fellowship with fellow believers when everyone is in separate cars.

We might as well be home watching our Pastor deliver the weekly message on the internet from an empty sanctuary or the living room of his house…safe but cloistered from other Christians like a bunch of Monks in a Monastery.

While Christians remain “the church body” even when we cannot meet corporately, it is not the same.

Together, we draw strength from one another and our shared experiences.

And, quite frankly, there is nothing comparable to feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit during a worship service.

It’s time to reopen America’s Churches.

It’s “essential”.

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

 

Michigan Gov. Whitmer Says Lockdown Protestors Inside Capitol Building Represented “Worst and Awful Parts” of U.S. History

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

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FoxNews.com reports that

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer slammed the protesters who gathered inside the state’s Capitol building on Thursday to demand she rescind her stay-at-home orders, saying they represented the “worst racism and awful parts” of  U.S. history.

“There were swastikas and Confederate flags and nooses and people with assault rifles,” Whitmer said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Some of the outrageousnesses of what happened at our capitol depicted some of the worst racism and awful parts of our history in this country.”

The Michigan governor, however, added that those people represented a small portion of the demonstrators at the state capital and that, for the most part, the protest was peaceful.

“When you think about the fact that this is a state of almost 10 million people, the vast majority of whom are doing the right thing,” she added, “the behavior you’ve seen in all of the clips is not representative of who we are in Michigan.”

Holding American flags and handmade signs – and with some carrying firearms — the demonstrators in Lansing first congregated shoulder-to-shoulder on Thursday outside before demanding to be let inside the building as lawmakers were poised to debate an extension of an emergency and disaster declaration. Some chanted “Let us in,” The Detroit News reported.

State Sen. Dayna Polehanki, a Democrat, tweeted a photo of what she described as armed demonstrators yelling above her. She said some of her colleagues were wearing “bullet proof vests” inside the House chamber.

“Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today. #mileg,” she posted.

Thursday’s rally came as some people living in Michigan have continued to demand Whitmer roll back her stay-at-home order in an effort to reopen the state’s economy and allow residents to resume daily activities.

Last week, she extended the mandate through May 15, but loosened some restrictions beginning Friday. Residents will be allowed to travel between residences, but it will be “strongly discouraged.”

Whitmer said she would not be intimidated by political pressure to ease up her state’s stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The fact of the matter is we are in the global pandemic. This is not something we negotiate ourselves out of and is a political matter; this is a public health crisis that has taken the lives of almost 70,000 Americans,” she said.

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“Whether you agree with me or not, I’m working to protect your life if you live in the state of Michigan,” Whitmer added.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

President Trump has come out in support of the protesters, calling them “very good people” in a tweet on Friday.

“The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire. These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal,” Trump added.

Did you notice, gentle readers, how Governor Whitmer made sure to mention the “small minority” of those with swastikas and the Stars and Bars within the crowd of protesters FIRST?

That is because the less-than-honorable Governor Whitmer, like the majority of Far Left Democrats, view average Americans as ignorant inbreds who are not their intellectual peers.

They, like every other “leader” in the history of the political ideology which they admire and aspire to, including Vladimir Lenin, himself, viewed “the proletariat” as sheep to be led and molded to work for “the good of the state”.

What’s theirs is theirs and what’s ours is theirs.

The political party with the jackass as their symbol are intentionally overstepping their Gubernatorial Powers in the states which they rule…not in the name of “protecting their citizens” as they claim, but, to intentionally damage the economic prosperity which President Donald J. Trump has worked so hard to bring back to average Americans…of all races.

No American death as a result of COVID-19 is “okay”.

However, neither is the destruction of our American Freedom and our once-booming economy.

The timing of this “accident” at the Wuhan Virology Institute could not have come at a better time for the Democratic Party.

The President was rolling, working hard at bringing America back from the poor stewardship of his predecessors and succeeding, despite the best efforts of the Democratic Party to get him thrown out of office.

Then, the Chinese Coronavirus hit, the lockdowns began, the stock market tanked, unemployment grew by leaps and bounds, Pelosi sent the House of Representatives off on a break from whence they have not returned yet, and the Democratic Governors extended the “Stay at Home” orders in their states, even if their state mortality rate from COVID-19 had started to plateau.

Yes, the Chinese Coronavirus has been rough.

However, if you think that Governor Whitler…err…Whitmer and her fellow travelers have extended the lockdowns of their states simply out of concern for their citizens…then you have not been paying attention.

Until He Comes,

KJ