Multiple churches in Chicago, Illinois are already having in-person services even though restrictions prohibit them from exceeding a certain amount.
According to the state’s “Restore Illinois” plan, religious services with 10 or fewer people are permitted, NBC Chicago reports.
Gatherings of more than ten, however, are still restricted until phase four of the plan which will increase the maximum to 50 people.
Even though some churches have been having in-person services, some pastors are already facing threats of church shutdowns.
Pastor Joe Wyrostek of Metro Praise International Church noted that he is facing a “summary abatement” for having services with more than 10 people, according to a letter sent by the city’s health department.
“We are very disappointed with all of this, including not being considered as essential in the beginning, as a church,” said Wyrostek, whose church held Sunday service for the second week in a row.
At the same time, Pastor Cristian Ionescu of Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Albany Park also received the same letter.
He noted that “the summary of abatement” entailed padlocking doors or even seeing his church get demolished.
“There is not going to be a stand-down on our part,” asserted Ionescu. “It’s only the city that escalates. I wonder, if they threaten us with such extreme measures, what else is left?”
Pastor Ionescu also filed a…
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