Christian organization calling on US churches to reopen May 3

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) -The Liberty Counsel (LC) Christian non-profit organization has launched the ReOpen Church Sunday campaign, calling on US churches to resume congregating in person on May 3, the Christian Post reports. As the campaign follows weeks of on-line worship services due to the coronavirus pandemic, LC advises that congregations should continue to observe social-distancing and sanitation measures at in-person services. However, LC says: “Now is the time to act.”

In an interview with the Christian Post, founder of Liberty Counsel Mat Staver explained the May 3 date was chosen because “it is part of that phase one of the ‘Opening America Again’ [proposal] that the president (Donald Trump) issued as guidelines.” The guidelines include houses of worship among those places that should be allowed to reopen provided they “operate under strict physical distancing protocols.” Moreover, Staver said, the proposed reopening date is the Sunday before the National Day of Prayer on May 7.

Concerning reopening, Staver said LC was recommending a number of different options on how to go about it. The options include limiting the number of people who can sit inside the church and having others sit in the parking lot: “Those people in the parking lot can participate in the worship service that’s being done on a limited basis inside,” Staver said.

As worship services have reportedly led to a rise in COVID-19 infections, Staver said the aim of the campaign was not to “pack people into a church like sardines:” LC was publishing advice and guidelines to help churches reopen safely. However, Staver said, churches themselves were best placed to decide how they would reopen.
The call for churches to reopen on May 3 comes when there is yet uncertainty about whether, and to what extent, state and local stay at home orders will have been lifted by then.

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