Trump: Churches Are Essential!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
On Friday afternoon, President Trump declared that churches and other
houses of worship were "essential" and that state
governors should also classify them as such. While several states had
already moved to reopen churches prior to the President's
announcement, other states have been more tentative, and the
President's announcement could not have been timelier.
In Rhode Island, Governor Gina Raimondo has allowed churches to
reopen, but only at 25% of their normal capacity. There, we have asked
Governor Raimondo to deem churches "essential" and allow
them to operate at 40-50% capacity.
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Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy has not included
churches at all in his reopening plan, even after 100 pastors asked
him to include them. Together with a lawyer and local pastor,
Family Policy Alliance of New Jersey has helped lead a coalition
of pastors in writing one more letter to the Governor asking him to
add churches to his plan, or face a lawsuit because of his violation
of New Jerseyans' religious freedom. In both New Jersey and
Rhode Island, these calls have been for safe and responsible opening
in accordance with recommended health guidelines.
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Perhaps most disturbing of all, this Sunday - after the
President's announcement - a church in Chicago met in
their building, only to have the police knock on their door in attempt
to stop their in-person service from continuing.
In light of situations like these, we are thankful for President
Trump standing up for religious freedom by identifying churches as
"essential" and asking governors to do the same. In case
you missed it, here's the full story from Friday. Please join us
in sending President Trump a thank you note for standing up for our
right to gather in faith!
See our message from last Friday below and take a moment to send a
note of thanks to the President.
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Friday, May 22, 2020
Friends,
When COVID-19 first became evident in America, churches across the
country did something unheard of in a country built on a rich and
strong foundation of religious freedom-they closed their doors.
Now we all know that God's work isn't constrained to the
four walls of a church. His people have been very much at work during
the pandemic through prayer, meeting people's most basic needs,
providing donations of much needed supplies, and more. But,
America's churches chose not to meet in worship-in most
cases entirely voluntarily-in order to join the effort to stop
COVID-19.
But then we all started to notice something deeply troubling. The
churches' doors were closed, despite strong constitutional
protections for religious freedom. Yet, Planned Parenthood and the
abortion industry marched on. You know the story-Planned
Parenthood defied state orders to shut down, pushed their agenda of
"virtual abortions" with less safety measures for women,
and even asked for donations of masks and hand sanitizer.
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The contrast couldn't be clearer. The Church largely voluntarily
halted their First Amendment rights to assemble and worship together
in an effort to save lives. Planned Parenthood and the abortion
industry stopped at nothing to take lives, even robbing healthcare
workers of valuable resources to do it.
Thankfully, throughout the pandemic, President Trump and his
Administration have been clear: No taxpayer dollars can go toward the
abortion industry.
Trump on Prayer
Now just this afternoon, President Trump stepped in on behalf of
America's churches, ordering that churches be declared
"essential."
At an unannounced briefing he stated: "Some governors have
deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics essential, but have left out
churches ... it's not right. So I am correcting this injustice and am
calling houses of worship essential. I call upon governors to allow
churches and places of worship to open right now."
President Trump throughout the pandemic has underscored his commitment
to religious freedom by ensuring that churches and faith-based
nonprofits were not excluded from the COVID relief programs. Now,
declaring that churches are essential, President Trump is committed to
settling the issue-churches should certainly not be treated less
than for-profit companies who do not have the same religious freedom
protections.
Will you join us in thanking President Trump for recognizing that the
Body of Christ, through its churches, is essential?
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Thankfully,
Autumn Leva
Vice President for Strategy
Take Action
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