Reopen Texas Plan Starts Today, Read Church Reopening FAQ Governor Greg Abbott announced a plan this week to begin reopening Texas that introduced a 3-phase plan to help get Texans back to work and open churches. Governor Abbott’s Executive Order that required everyone in the state of Texas to shelter in place was allowed to expire yesterday. Today, May 1, the state has entered Phase 1 of the plan that includes allowing retail stores, restaurants, movie theatres, and malls to reopen provided that these businesses limit their occupancy to no more than 25% of their capacity.
Governor Abbott also confirmed that churches can have in-person services, and Attorney General Ken Paxton provided updated specific guidelines for churches that you can read here. Rev. Dave Welch with the Texas Pastor Council has put together a helpful Texas Church Reopening FAQ based on the updated guidance from Governor Abbott and Attorney General Paxton. This includes clarifying that churches are NOT bound by the 25% capacity limitation, but instead each church’s seating capacity is limited by the individual logistics of available space using social distancing guidelines for churches. | |
