Everyone is doing what they can to navigate the new Coronavirus mandates. But how extreme are they willing to go?
One Church in Maryland was meeting live and in-person, but they were careful to obey the Health mandates.
They limited attendance to no more than 10 people, including staff.
They obeyed all the other health recommendations.
The environment in that church was probably safer than your local grocery store or pharmacy… but the cops were sent to investigate anyway.
How many cops were sent? FIVE squad cars, eight of nine cops.
Does that seem a little bit overkill to you?
On Sunday, Rev. Alvin Gwynn Sr. said there were ten people in the church when unexpected company arrived.
“We had approximately 8-9 police officers show in five patrol right in the middle of my sermon believe it or not. My security stopped the police officers at the door of the church and told them they could not come into the church,” Rev. Gwynn Sr. said.
He said he dismissed the church members and talked to the Sgt.
“I said why are you here. He said did you read the Governors Order? I said I know the Governor’s order. It says ten people or less, I have ten people or less and I have ten people so tell me why are you here,” Rev. Gwynn Sr. explained.
He said that all faith based organizations are in partnership with the CDC and homeland security during pandemics like this and that they are essential partners to the CDC.
According to the police report, officers came by twice before the church was emptied.
“Why the government is so insistent on closing the church down on Sundays, restricting worship, restricting the size of the gathering in the church is totally against the first amendment of our constitution which says congress make no law prohibiting the free worship exercise of peaceful assembly of people in the United States that include the church,” he said. — WMAR
There is NOTHING in this report suggesting they were in violation of any legal or health requirement limiting their assembling.
And yet SOMEBODY made the call to sent ‘eight or nine’ cops to the Church. Why?
And why was their follow-up so vigorous?
Has all crime in Baltimore miraculously ground to a halt?
That was LAST week. What about THIS week — it was Palm Sunday, after all…
“This is Palm Sunday and Jesus didn’t go online when he entered into Jerusalem,” said Pastor Alwin Gwynn.
Police responded to the church last weekend to let the churchgoers know they were violating the governor’s stay-at-home order but Pastor Gwynn said they were and are continuing to follow all guidelines.
“The Bible says ‘Forsake not the gathering of yourselves together,’” explained Pastor Gwynn, “We’re practicing all the rules from the CDC. We have to wear masks, we’ve got protection on, we’re staying 6 feet apart from each.”
For Palm Sunday, people entered the front of the church, received their palm and exited out the back. The process took a matter of minutes and Pastor Gwynn said they never allowed more than 10 people inside at a time.
”I’ve got police officers counting them one in the front counting who goes in, another officer in the back counting who goes out,” he said.
Members of the Baltimore City Police Department and the Baltimore Fire Department stood across the streets. — MSN
The best quote came from one attendee who quipped that, “you go to the liquor store, there’s no police there, but you can’t come to church.”
That’s an interesting observation about enforcement priorities, now isn’t it?
