The 850-member Capitol Hill Baptist Church gathered for the first time since March in Washington D.C. this past weekend after a successful lawsuit against the District over COVID-19 restrictions.
The church, which had been meeting in the less restrictive Virginia, gathered in Anacostia Park in Southeast D.C. wearing masks and staying six feet apart. Members also brought their own Bibles and printed bulletins.
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser prohibited religious outdoor or indoor meetings of over 100 people. However, the church complained that the government discriminated against religious organizations.
“For example, on June 6, 2020, Mayor Bowser appeared personally at an outdoor gathering of tens of thousands of people at the corner of 16th and H Streets, NW and delivered a speech describing the large gathering as ‘wonderful to see,’” the complaint said.
“And only three weeks ago, the Mayor coordinated with organizers of the Commitment March on Washington to ‘re-imagine’ the five-hour event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for several thousand people in attendance to hear an array of speakers.”
U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden ruled in favor of the church pastored by Mark Dever, stating that the “District has failed to offer evidence at this stage showing that it has a compelling…
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