Last Wednesday, churchgoers in Greenville, Mississippi, attended a “drive-in” church service in the parking lot of the Temple Baptist Church, where they all remained in their cars with no chance of breaking the 6-foot policy or the limit on group gatherings. Despite the effort to faithfully adhere to the governor-ordered social distancing measures, the church’s service was “busted up” by eight police officers and the churchgoers slapped with $500 fines.
The reason: While Mississippi’s Gov. Tate Reeves (R) includes church services in his list of “essential” businesses or operations, Greenville’s Mayor Errick Simmons (D) decided that church services are not essential.
In response, Greenville’s Temple Baptist Church, with the help of pro-faith non-profit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), filed a law suit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi asking the court to rule the mayor’s ban unconstitutional. – READ MORE
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