"On a matter of faith, a different higher power helped guide Baker: the courts; Legal threat loomed over governor’s decision to allow houses of worship to reopen" by Matt Stout Globe Staff, May 20, 2020
Governor Charlie Baker has spoken at both a synagogue and a church during the COVID-19 pandemic, and afterward described seeing the spiritual toll of his decision to severely curtail public gatherings cast before him in empty pews, but his decision this week to allow houses of worship to immediately welcome congregants back was rooted not in faith. Rather, aides say, it was a calculation of two threats: the coronavirus and a lawsuit, and the latter, according to constitutional experts, carried the potential of ultimately forcing their doors open anyway.
Related: Lawsuits Will End Lockdowns
By God, it has!
The challenge underscores the varied factors helping drive Baker’s decisions in balancing an enduring public health crisis, a crumbling economy, and ever-increasing pressure to pull the right levers on both.
The inclusion of places of worship amid the first wave of Baker’s reopening plan led public health and elected officials to immediately send up red flags, fearing that even at 40 percent capacity — as Baker directed amid a slew of other regulations — indoor congregations of elderly parishioners could serve as an incubator for a new outbreak of the virus.
It’s prompted calls for caution even from religious organizations, and Baker, too, who urged faith leaders on Monday to embrace the effort to “protect vulnerable populations” should they ease back into in-person services.
Hanging over the decision was a separate higher power: the courts. A Worcester pastor last week filed a federal lawsuit against Baker, arguing his ban on gatherings of more than 10 people violated freedom of religion protected by the First Amendment.
A judge has yet to rule on the complaint filed by Pastor Kristopher Casey and the Adams Square Baptist Church, but had Baker excluded houses of worship as he eased restrictions elsewhere, he risked fueling the argument that religious services were being unconstitutionally curtailed, experts say.
“Once you start opening up some businesses or some gathering places, churches could say, ‘We deserve to open up like anybody else,’ ” said Kent Greenfield, a constitutional scholar and law professor at Boston College. “If you didn’t [include houses of worship], then those First Amendment claims start to get more and more persuasive, and they become more persuasive as the phases go.”
Baker did not address the potential legal consequences Monday, when he announced his plan, but state officials weighed the possible fallout in crafting the regulations, a person in the administration said. Should Baker lose in court, it would be a judge, not the governor, shaping how houses of worship can reopen.
“It was the best way to balance the legal challenge while retaining the ability to put out some level of public health guidance,” said the person, who spoke anonymously to discuss internal deliberations.
Even the regulations are unconstitutional under the First Amendment.
A hearing is scheduled for Friday in the lawsuit, though it’s unclear how it will proceed. Attorneys for Casey did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The issue has reared its head elsewhere. The US Department of Justice on Tuesday sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom criticizing his decision to allow restaurants, factories, and malls to open in stage 2 of his plan, but to bar places of worship from holding services until stage 3.
“We believe that the Constitution calls for California to do more to accommodate religious worship, including in Stage 2 of the Reopening Plan," a DOJ spokeswoman wrote on Twitter.
Defiance is in the air.
Baker has previously watched the courts chip away at his decision-making power since declaring a state of emergency in March. A federal judge this month allowed gun shops across Massachusetts to reopen, ruling that Baker’s decision to close them along with thousands of other “nonessential” businesses infringed on people’s Second Amendment rights.
The guidelines US District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock installed for firearm retailers were crafted largely from a proposed order Baker’s attorneys submitted to the court, but Woodlock, through his ruling, was able to tweak important details, including moving up by days the timeline for when gun shops could begin making appointment-only sales.
Baker said Monday that the guidelines established under the court order would govern gun shops, even as he eased restrictions on other retailers.
Had Baker excluded houses of worship from his initial reopening plan, and fought the Worcester pastor’s lawsuit, he also risked running into other challenges, said Jay Wexler, a Boston University law professor who focuses on church-state law.
“The arguments are at least plausible enough that the state would have had to defend it, they would have to spend resources, money," Wexler said, "and they may not look good politically.”
Baker, who is Protestant, has repeatedly cited the impact closing religious services has had on him personally. In the span of three days in late March, he sat in an empty Temple Emanuel in Newton, speaking through a live stream at what would have otherwise been a packed sanctuary, and that Sunday, attended service at Morning Star Baptist Church Service in Mattapan.
Afterward, he described sensing “a loss of purpose” amid the strict limits he put on gatherings.
“Taking away the opportunity for people to worship together was one of the worst of all of the decisions that we had to make in all of this,” Baker said Monday.
Now, as they are allowed to open their doors, houses of worship face a variety of restrictions: the 40 percent capacity limit, a requirement to wear protective masks, and guidelines to block off pews. Faith leaders are even asked to consider using prepackaged communion or sacraments.
Those detailed guidelines have done little to quell criticism. Representative Ayanna Pressley on Tuesday called on Baker to reconsider his reopening timeline, citing in part discussions with “faith leaders concerned it is not safe to gather.”
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he feared houses of worship, as well as barbershops and hair salons, could help feed a potential surge in cases, and made a public plea to his own mother and the city’s elderly residents to not flock back to religious services.
“I know that for many of you, your place of worship is the heart of your community, and you’re missing it,” Walsh said. “I want you to hold off on going back to your services at this point.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its own study this week finding that among 92 attendees at a rural Arkansas church in March, 35 tested positive for COVID-19, including three people who died.
An additional 26 cases spread into the community, causing another death, according to the CDC, which held it up as an example of the widespread transmission that can happen in a church gathering and "within the broader community.”
Even with the green light, faith leaders are preaching caution. The Archdiocese of Boston said Catholic churches can begin reopening as early as Saturday, but only if parish leaders feel prepared to do so safely.
Leaders of mosques in Roxbury and Cambridge decided to keep this weekend’s Eid al-Fitr celebrations virtual, and Rabbi David Hellman of Young Israel of Brookline said the Modern Orthodox synagogue isn’t likely to open until the coming weeks, and when it does, it will likely be with restrictions not just on the number of people but the ages of who can attend.
Religious leaders nonetheless impressed upon Baker’s reopening advisory board the importance of including houses of worship in any plan it formulated. Hundreds of pastors had already urged Baker earlier this month to allow them to reopen.
“We didn’t go in saying we wanted X number of seats, or this date,” said Jeremy Burton, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, who with representatives from the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization and others was part of the virtual meeting.
“There was a clear understanding both on the part of us presenting and on the part of the lieutenant governor [Karyn Polito] and other members of the group that faith institutions and the role we play in Massachusetts is vital,” Burton said, "and that needed to be addressed.”
Huh, what?
--more--"
Sorry for falling asleep during the sermon.
Related:
Churches plot cautious course after Baker allows reopening
They should be going full-speed ahead as he "allows" something he has no right to deny.
Of course, with an increase in violence during the pandemic, pastors and residents call for more services in Boston neighborhoods:
"A century-old tradition in Boston’s North End has joined the long list of events canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. St. Anthony’s Feast, which began in 1919 and is among the largest of the North End’s summer festivals honoring Catholic saints, will not take place over the last weekend in August,cq organizers said in an undated statement on the feast’s website. St. Lucy’s Feast,a smaller celebration held the weekend before St. Anthony’s Feast, was also postponed to 2021, they said. “For over 100 years, Saint Anthony’s Feast has celebrated faith, family, community and tradition in the North End of Boston,” members of St. Anthony’s Society said in the statement. “During this current crisis, these values have special meaning that will guide us.”The society said it had canceled the celebration in consultation with city officials and would host “virtual feast events in August.” “The Saint Anthony & Saint Lucy family wish everyone good health during this time of uncertainty,” the society said. “We join with all of you in praying for those around the world affected by this public health crisis.”
Maybe you can feast on this:
"President Trump stepped into the culture wars again on Friday, taking the side of some religious leaders against governors who have moved slowly in reopening houses of worship amid the pandemic. Without any clear authority to do so, Trump said that he was calling houses of faith, including churches, synagogues, and mosques, “essential services” and urged governors to reopen them “right now.” After he spoke, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a number of long-delayed guidelines with suggestions for steps that houses of worship can take to curb the spread of the virus....."
"After refusing for weeks to release reopening guidance for churches, the Trump administration on Thursday abruptly changed course — with the president saying he had instructed health officials to put the advice out. While visiting Michigan, President Trump said he had discussed the issue with leadership at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I said ‘You better put it out.’ And they’re doing it,” Trump said at a Ford Motor Co. plant repurposed to make ventilators in Ypsilanti Township. “And they’re going to be issuing something today or tomorrow on churches. We got to get our churches open.” The church guidance is coming out “hopefully soon,” CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said Thursday afternoon. A senior administration official said it was expected to be released Friday. More than a month ago, the CDC sent the Trump administration documents the agency had drafted with specific steps different types of organizations could follow as they gradually reopened. The advice was for seven types of organizations, including schools, restaurants, and religious facilities.Those drafts included detailed information for churches wanting to restart in-person services, with suggestions including maintaining distance between parishioners and limiting the size of gatherings."
A flood of people went back to church in Michigan, while down in Mississippi:
"A church in Mississippi was destroyed by a suspected arson fire, about a month after its pastor filed a lawsuit challenging the city of Holly Springs on gathering restrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak. First Pentecostal Church in Holly Springs, Miss., burned down Wednesday morning, news outlets reported. When investigators from the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office got to the scene, they found graffiti in the church parking lot that read: “Bet you stay home now you hypokrites.” “We’ve kind of racked our brains and we have no idea,” Jerry Waldrop, the pastor of the church, said. “No enemies that we know of. We don’t know anyone that we even think could be capable of doing something like this.” Waldrop filed a lawsuit against the city of Holly Springs last month, alleging police officers had disrupted a church Bible study and Easter service. Holly Springs City Attorney Shirley Byers said nearly 40 worshipers inside the church building were not practicing social distancing on April 10 when a violation citation was issued for the church. Churchgoers practiced social distancing while indoors and only held indoor services when bad weather would not allow them to gather outside, the lawsuit said. Waldrop’s complaint also asked for a temporary restraining order to keep city officials from preventing church services."
My first reaction was OMG, here we go, it's the 1960s all over again!
I can not tell you how dejected I was upon reading such a thing.
Then I found something else you need to know:
Church That Defied Lockdown is Burned to the Ground by a Pro-Lockdown Arsonist
No sanctuary in Somerville:
Somerville is restricting access to cars on some streets to create a network for pedestrians and cyclists
The “Shared Streets” initiative is a pilot project that will kick off at the end of May, and it’s a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.
That was the final straw for me, and enjoy your soft police state before it goes hard:
"Governor Charlie Baker, meanwhile, on Thursday spoke to his decision-making process amid the ever-changing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts. “In some ways, the hardest part is the fact that what we know about the virus, and what we know about how it operates, what we know about how contagious it is, what we know about how many people can get it and carry it around and pass it to others without ever knowing they had it in the first place — I mean all this stuff just keeps changing,” Baker said during a WGBH radio interview. Days after unveiling his reopening plan, Baker said that, as governor, “You try to make the best decisions you can based on what you know. We’ve been in front of the media pretty much every day for the past couple of months," he said, "and then, based on what you learned that day, you try to make adjustments if you need to the next one. The one thing I will say is that we’ve tried to be pretty focused on what I would call the data that’s available when we make decisions, but I get the enormity of the impact that these decisions have. I do.”
Walsh is approaching the holiday with something closer to dread, and Baker's failed strategy and complicity in the fascist fraud tyranny makes him a criminal who will ultimately face judgment.
