L.A. County said the church holding services on Sunday could result in citations, but right now they are focused on education.But by yesterday, the county was taking a harder line:. In an e-mailed press release that I so far can't locate on line, it said,
Los Angeles County has asked a Superior Court judge to impose sanctions against a Sun Valley church that has repeatedly violated public health and court orders needed to slow the spread of COVID-19. A hearing is set for August 20 at 8:30 a.m.The Thomas More Society posted on its webpage:
The LA County Board of Supervisors has decided to continue their unconstitutional attack against Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church. They are now asking the court to hold the church in contempt for simply being open for worship last Sunday. Pastor MacArthur is standing firm that church is essential and has no plans to yield to this tyrannical board, which is clearly defying the constitution’s mandate to protect religious liberty.Exactly what those sanctions will be remains to be seen. UPDATE: According to Fox News,
The county is claiming that Grace Community Church, led by pastor John MacArthur, should face $8,000 in fines -- or $1,000 each for eight acts of contempt they're alleging. The county also seeks an additional $1,500 in fines for violations of court orders, bringing the total to $20,000.The problem for the county is that court orders need to be enforced, but enforcement is normally done by the police. This certainly applies to issues like restraining orders, bench warrants, and so forth. On the other hand, civil judgments and penalties are difficult to enforce in many cases -- if defendants are ordered to make restitution, for instance, victims have few options for collecting.
Adding to the county's problem is that the Los Angeles police chief has already told Pastor MacArthur that LAPD will not enforce any county health orders against the church:
He quotes the chief as saying, "There is no scenario that I can imagine in which the police would come against Grace Community Church". The police position is that they enforce laws, not health department orders, which is a policy that has already been widely expressed by law enforcement across the country. So even if MacArthur were to be found in contempt of court, the police would need to arrest him. But even if he were to be jailed, another pastor would preach at the church in his stead.
Another option would be Mayor Garcetti's threat to turn off power to the church via the city Department of Water and Power. Garcetti did finally do this yesterday, after months of threats, to a Hollywood Hills home that had hosted wild parties. The difficulty there is that business-grade emergency generators are easy to rent, and I would assume that the church and its elders already have contingency plans covering this situation.
The word being passed on YouTube and elsewhere is that Pastor MacArthur plans to be in the pulpit this coming Sunday.
Pastor McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in the wide-ranging discussion below is more optimistic about how the Ventura County board and the court will resolve their own dilemma:
