Hundreds gather on California beach for worship service despite ban on large gatherings

happysanta | July 29, 2020 | Life | No Comments

A large crowd of worshippers gathered Sunday in defiance of California’s Governor Newsom’s ban on mass gatherings and restrictions on religious institutions.

The goal of the ban and guidelines is to stop the spread of COVID-19, but many feel it’s infringing on their rights as citizens and have begun defying orders.

On Sunday a large group of people – the organizer said officials informed him 5,000 people were in attendance, but reports suggest only 1,000 showed up – attended an outdoor service.

The service took place at Cardiff State Beach, near San Diego.

Hundreds of people were seen in close proximity and very few wore masks. According to Fox News, Sean Feucht, a missionary and one of the organizers of the event, put together the event as part of a protest.

The event, which saw dozens baptized in the Pacific Ocean, was put on by Hold the Line, Feucht’s political engagement movement.

“It’s just the most raw, organic, gritty gospel,” he said. “It’s been very eclectic, very diverse in terms of people praying and singing. People got healed, saved, and delivered.”

His own son Ezra was baptized at the service.

Pastor Barry Sappington, who helped organize the event, said that many people miss their church families and this outdoor event was the perfect place for them to gather.

“Worship is a core part of a Christ follower’s life and as you can see people don’t want to go anywhere, they want to gather, they want to worship and this is a perfect venue for them to do so,” Sappington told NBC San Diego.

View this post on Instagram

Not sure if this was before or after Sean broke his second string of the night, but it seems to capture a very real emotion that all 5,000 who gathered felt… JOY! There is simply something amazing that happens when we fill a room, a home or a beach with praise to our God — The things that hold us back, keep us down, fight our inner most desires to worship begin to fall away and break… revival begins to come… and the sacrificial praise of Gods people brings waves of change… and that’s just what happened. • @SeanFeucht and @HoldTheLine_ are doing a beautiful thing for the Church… it was an honor to play a small part… and now we pray for the next stops on the journey as the church awakens in a new wave of praise and worship. We’re with you Sean! • Check Out Instastory for the Recap from Sean and his team! • #HoldTheLine #BeachParty #Worship #WorshipMusic #Church #ReGatherTheChurch #TheChurchCollective #WorshipCollective #LetUsWorship

A post shared by BR₳Đ & RɆBɆK₳H (@bradandrebekah) on Jul 27, 2020 at 8:22pm PDT

Dr. Wilma Wooten, the San Diego County Health Officer, did not agree.

“This is not recommended. It really does contribute to others having the potential to be infected regardless of it being outside,” she said.

Dr. Wilma Wooten was "saddened" to see the large gathering of peaceful protesters on Cardiff State Beach Sunday evening.

Over 1,000 people showed up to protest the mandated closure of their local churches.

Wooten said she will "continue to address this egregious violation." pic.twitter.com/yxT4EQa1fR

— KUSI News (@KUSINews) July 28, 2020

Despite no social distancing, and very few people wearing a mask, only minor citations were handed out.

Local reports stated that event organizers did not have a permit for the event, and California state parks officials issued several citations for illegal parking, but no other citations or warnings were given.

“It’s such a double standard, right? You have protesters who can go out, do gatherings like this and nothing is spoken about; if anything, it’s praised,” Heather Molchanoff said. “But then we’re not allowed to gather in church on Sunday.”