The ongoing battle between Grace Community Church and Los Angeles County officials continues as Pastor John MacArthur states that he and his congregation has a moral and religious obligation to allow their attendants to gather and worship the Lord.
This matter can be considered the county's fourth attempt to close the Grace Community Church's doors amidst the ongoing pandemic.
Pastor John MacArthur argued saying, "This church is the core of life for thousands from nursery to seniors. Our church is not an event center. It is a family of lives who love and care for each other in very intensely personal ways. So essential to personal well-being that people rushed back as soon as they could. The utter unnecessary deprivation of all our people by completely shutting down the mutual love and care that sustains our people in all the exigencies, pressures, and challenges of life, was cruel. And after 63 years of sacrificial, kindness to our city, to be repeatedly threatened with court-ordered efforts to shut Grace Community Church down when no one is sick, reveals an inexplicable preference for a mostly harmless virus over the life-enriching and necessary fellowship of the church.
Our leaders and congregation see no real health threat to warrant such restraint. We see this action against us as an illegitimate misuse of power."
MacArthur feels that the California government is intentionally attacking the church and said to his congregation to not buy into the narrative that the orders set in place by Gov. Gavin Newsom were for safety reasons. He goes on to say that within the congregation there isn't a sick individual or anyone who has gone to the hospital throughout the pandemic period.
He went on to point out the different approach that the government provided for the recent protests while continuously restricting religious gatherings. In accordance with his reasoning, he opened his sermon with, "Good morning, everyone. I'm so happy to welcome you to the Grace Community Church peaceful protest."
