Mega church Pastor Brian Gibson of HIS Church announced on Monday that his churches in Texas and Kentucky will hold in-person services on Sunday, May 17, and is calling on congregations nationwide to join him.Gibson's HIS Church has four parishes, in Amarillo and Dumas, in the Texas panhandle, and in Owensboro and Henderson, Kentucky. Since in-person services have already begun in Texas, it appears that his target will be Kentucky. In response to court injunctions last weekend, the state issued Guidelines for Places of Worship the same day.. . . The “Peacefully Gather” petition acknowledges that restrictions vary from state to state but adds that the legal watchdog group First Liberty Institute “will provide legal representation to Pastor Brian Gibson and any of his four churches in Texas and Kentucky that are targeted by local governments for practicing their Constitutional rights to gather and worship.” It encourages other churches to reach out to the group, which will to offer its services “free of charge.”
A summary of the guidelines listed in a news story says churches will be "allowed" to reopen May 20. The "guidelines" themselves carry this ominous wording:
Places of worship will be expected to meet the Healthy at Work Minimum Requirements. In addition, places of worship should follow the guidelines in order to reopen and remain open:It's hard to avoid thinking that the state is adding additional requirements specifically intended for houses of worship, over and above any others directed at workplaces -- and the implied threat is that if the "guidelines" aren't followed, the houses of worship apparently won't "remain open".
One issue that interests me as a lay observer is why, if the First Amendment forbids government from regulating religion at all, Kentucky sees fit to issue "guidelines" specifically tailored to houses of worship, as opposed to general guidelines for arenas, auditoriums, theaters, and similar venues.
Pastor Gibson apparently intends to open three days earlier than the state will allow. It isn't clear what other guidelines he may violate in reopening, but in reviewing them, it's possible that one or more attendees could be violating them by, for example, singing without a mask, or singing while maintaining a social distance of only six feet rather than more, or a wind instrument might be played, or someone might use a restroom that was not sanitized between each use.
So Pastor Gibson will have a public-interest lawyer on hand.
