A federal judge’s decision halting a ban on drive-in church services is being applauded by Christian leaders.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer last week said drive-in church services wouldn’t be allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but On Fire Christian Church – a local congregation – quickly filed suit in federal court. On Saturday, federal judge Justin R. Walker issued a temporary restraining order against the mayor’s prohibition, saying the church had demonstrated a “strong likelihood” to win the case on the merits.
Although Walker’s decision technically applied only to the one church, he added, “Louisville ought not to view the limits of this injunction as a green light to violate the religious liberty of non-parties.”
“On Holy Thursday, an American mayor criminalized the communal celebration of Easter,” Walker wrote. “That sentence is one that this Court never expected to see outside the pages of a dystopian novel, or perhaps the pages of The Onion. But two days ago, citing the need for social distancing during the current pandemic, Louisville’s Mayor Greg Fischer ordered Christians not to attend Sunday services, even if they remained in their cars to worship – and even though it’s Easter.
“The Mayor’s decision is stunning. And it is, ‘beyond all reason,’ unconstitutional.”
First Liberty Institute represented the church.
On Fire…
… Read More
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.