Faith leaders are decrying California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ban last week on singing in houses of worship due to a surge in coronavirus cases, Fox News reported on Monday.
California’s new guidelines state that places of worship must “discontinue singing and chanting activities and limit indoor attendance to 25 percent of building capacity or a maximum of 100 attendees, whichever is lower,” as health officials point to singing as a proven way to spread a virus.
Sean Feucht, a pastor in Northern California, started a "Let Us Worship" petition on his website, comparing Newsom to Pharoah by reading a verse from Exodus, "This is what the Lord says, 'Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'"
He shared a post on Instagram showing images of him leading "illegal worship" in Iraq in 2016, in North Korea in 2010, and in California on Friday, writing "Never in my life would I believe that it would be California in 2020."
Feucht called the order an "unprecedented attack" on the freedom of worship and said he is defying the ban.
"Tens of thousands of people have been gathering outdoors in cities all across California and they have been screaming and chanting and protesting [as state officials encourage them]," Feucht said, adding "can you see the hypocrisy? ... It really is time that we take a stand and that we fight back."
Other faith leaders made similar protests, including Pastor Les Simmons of South Sacramento Christian Center, who told KCRA that in "the black culture, singing in churches goes all the way back from 400 years ago during slavery up until now. Singing was our thing that got us through.”
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