Salinas church: New guidelines too restrictive
SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Houses of worship across the Central Coast are getting ready to reopen after the state released new guidelines earlier this week for religious services.
But at least one baptist church in Salinas believes the new guidelines are still too restrictive; they say they have the right to practice their faith as God mandates it.
New Hope Baptist Church on Kings Street in East Salinas has actually kept their doors open for in-person services ever since the shelter-in-place order went out two months ago.
Ever since the 1st century, Christians have gathered together to fellowship and break bread. It is a tradition that perhaps finds its most poignant and meaningful expression in the Holy Eucharist, or Communion, where the faithful partake in the bread and wine that Christ himself commissioned in The Last Supper.
When the shelter-in-place order came down in Monterey County in mid-March, New Hope Baptist Church leaders knew they had to stay open, even if it meant defying the new rules.
"Well, our reaction was that didn't really apply to us. Honestly, we understood what was going on, we understood that the pandemic was real," said Reverend Artis Smith, the pastor of New Hope Baptist Church. "However, we always felt that the church was an essential part of the community."
The church has continued in-person services since the beginning of the shutdown, but they have tried to keep everyone who attends healthy: asking the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions to stay home, practicing social distancing during services, providing masks and hand sanitizers at the door and calling for frequent hand washing.
"We have maintained all of that, only so many people per pew, staggering the pews," said Charron Smith, the pastor's wife. "So it's not to say we're not respecting the
guidelines."
Reverend Smith was planning on joining 1,200 pastors across California this Sunday, the Day of Pentecost for Christians, in protest of the statewide religious gathering restrictions.
On Monday, however, Governor Gavin Newsom released new, eased guidelines for churches, with our local counties giving faith leaders the green light to implement. But Reverend Smith believes the guidelines are still too restrictive, especially congregation size limits and even guidelines discouraging singing and group responses during services.
"The Bible says let everything that has breath, praise the LORD," said Reverend Smith. "Worship would not be worship if we could not lift up our voices and sing out praises to our God."
"It's almost as if the church is being discriminated against. We have the Walmart, there's no limitations here, the Target, there's no limitations there," he said. "But when it comes to the house of worship, the governor wants to put limitations on our participation, how many we can have in our house of worship, down to him saying that we shouldn't even be having singing in the church."
An important biblical passage in the New Testament instructs believers to submit to governing authorities. It is a passage every pastor would likely weigh, especially on this issue of defying government orders.
But Reverend Smith believes he is doing exactly what he is being called to do. He says he is not forcing anyone to come to his church nor turning people away. In all about 15 to 20 people have actually come to his church for Sunday services in the past few weeks.
"No law supersedes God's law," said Reverend Smith. "God has mandated that the church not forsake the assembling of ourselves together."
"A remote experience is not the same as gathering with the saints," said Marlisa Blueford, a member of New Hope Baptist Church.
PREVIOUS STORY: New Hope Baptist Church in Salinas is holding in-person services ever since the shelter-in-place order was issued in Monterey County in mid-March.
The pastor says he would rather follow his faith when it comes to how he runs his church.
KION’s Josh Kristianto will have more at 5 and 6 p.m.
