Is church closed or not? At first, you couldn’t tell from Tarrant County’s weak order
Judge Glen Whitley says church is banned anywhere in Tarrant County. Too risky.
But his written order left dangerous room for doubt.
While Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price ordered clearly that “worship services remain prohibited” in the city, Whitley’s countywide order was buried in such thick legalese that one suburban city council debated what it meant.
In a new video published late Wednesday, Whitley said strongly that in-person worship is prohibited.
The caption: “Church Services Stay Home.”
But at least one church is still planning to worship on Saturday.
In the worst week yet of the coronavirus pandemic, Stedfast Baptist Church in Sansom Park,. a grandstanding little fire-and-brimstone congregation, announced a Saturday morning “soul-winning marathon.”
It’s no wonder there’s confusion. Just read Whitley’s order.
The first mention of churches says “religious services conducted in churches, congregations, and houses of worship are permitted.”
That plainly echoes Gov. Greg Abbott’s order meant to open small churches in outlying parts of the state.
Then a footnote says churches “should” cancel services if coronavirus has spread.
(“Should.” Not “must.”)
Not until two pages later does Whitley order worship closed.
“All in-person gatherings of any size are prohibited,” Whitley wrote.
The order doesn’t directly mention worship. But it’s listed under the headline “Worship Services.”
It was written with the help of District Attorney Sharen Wilson’s staff, Whitley said.
But it’s a mess.
Unlike Price’s city order, Whitley’s doesn’t even come out and say in so many words, “NO CHURCH.”
Closing churches is important, and why becomes more clear every day.
Churches and home prayer groups have turned out to be some of the most dangerous places to catch the coronavirus.
A Pentecostal church in Sacramento County, Calif., has 71 cases, including one death.
Seven cases are linked to a church conference in Kansas City.
Three other outbreaks in Kansas are from churches.
Despite the danger, three Houston pastors sued to keep holding church. Republican activists Steven Hotze, an allergist with a vitamin business, and attorney Jared Woodfill joined in the effort.
I have no idea why anyone would want to have church, prayer circles, family reunions or any other kind of gathering outside the household when an invisible virus is spreading, particularly when those who carry it may not know.
But in suburban Bedford, home of Tea Party-driven politics and foghorn state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, the City Council debated Tuesday whether to let churches reopen.
The council eventually voted, 5-2, to enforce the section of Whitley’s order that bans gatherings.
Councilman Roger Fisher moved to enforce only Abbott’s order. He questioned the legality of Whitley’s local order and said the orders were “in conflict.”
Mayor Pro Tem Amy Sabol disagreed, saying, “It would be good for us to just keep people as far apart as we can.”
Look, all this could have been avoided.
Whitley and Wilson could have written clear orders suspending worship.
(Even as late as Tuesday, Whitley was still waffling. He told a reporter parking lot services would be OK and worshipers could listen by radio. But that tempts them to park too close together or get out of the car.)
This is a time when we need strong leadership to save lives.
That is not what we have at the county courthouse.
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 11:07 AM.
