Nearly 20 faith-based and religious leaders joined Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons on a conference call online casino go Thursday in light of a recent executive order issued by the city council regarding church services as well as the governor’s shelter-in-place order.
Some faith-based leaders met with the mayor at city hall.
At Tuesday’s regular city council meeting, the executive order regarding church services was approved and states, “Mandating, effective immediately, that in an effort prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), all church buildings will be closed for in person and drive-in church services, until the State of Mississippi’s “Shelter In Place” Executive Order No. 1466 is lifted by Governor Tate Reeves.”
The spirit of and reasoning behind the order was well received by the majority of the faith-based leaders and many of the pastors have already begun using an alternative approach to their usual indoor services as well as prayer and bible study.
“The governor said that we could hold drive in services, but the governor also called yesterday and said municipalities can do stricter things than the governor’s executive order if need be,” Simmons explained during the call.
The City of Greenville issued a press release highlighting the State of Mississippi and local statistics on the number of Coronavirus cases, number of deaths, and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on Greenville.
The release states, “As of April 9, 2020, the number of cases in Mississippi totals 2,260 (52% black, 35% white, and 12% other) and 76 deaths (71% black and 29% white).”
Those statistics serve as the rationale for the temporary executive orders put in place by mayor and city council.
“We are not saying people can’t worship,” Simmons said. “We’re just saying, ‘Let’s be safe.’”
Pastor Steven Cantu of Grace Fellowship Church said in regard to the temporary executive order, he thinks the mayor’s heart is in the right place.
“None of us are walking in fear thinking the government is trying to take over our churches or that some ulterior motive is at hand, that’s not the issue,” Cantu said. “Our governor is a man of great faith, our mayor is a man of great faith…this is not about an intrusion on our constitutional rights — no one is telling us we cannot worship or that we cannot have church, but we have to be creative in the way that we do it for the protection of one another.”
The executive order goes on to state churches are strongly encouraged to hold services via Facebook Live, Zoom, Free Conference Call, and any and all other electronic, social media, streaming, and telephonic platforms available for the safety and protection of life.
In addition, the order allows for pastors, musicians and media and production teams to be in the buildings, so long as, there are no more than 10 people in accordance to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.
Mount Horeb Church of Greenville pastor Alvin Calvin noted he and his church have been in compliance with the executive order since, and even prior to it being issued.
“We have health care professionals in our church who have enlightened us about the seriousness of this pandemic. We’ve already had one of our young family members, a 40-year-old cousin, who has succumbed to COVID-19,” Calvin shared.
Calvin’s services are conducted virtually as well beginning 10 a.m. on Sundays and there are no more than five people in the building at that time, which include the videographer, musicians and himself.
He commended Simmons for taking the necessary steps and encouraged those who are Christian ministers and Christian teachers to realize there comes a time such as this one. It is not the worst thing that will happen to Christians in this life.
“I think that it is best that we all be in compliance … a lot of people listen to pastors when they don’t listen to anyone else,” Calvin added.
Arthur Scott, pastor of Temple Baptist Church and Charles Hamilton Jr., pastor of King James Bible Baptist Church felt differently about the order issued on Tuesday.
Members of Temple Baptist Church were cited fines for $500 by Greenville police officers following the subsequent drive in prayer service on Wednesday evening.
“Everybody was in the car, nobody was outside their car, nobody tried to get outside the car,” Pastor of Greater Faith Tabernacle Church Charles Fisher explained about the service. “I’ve preached for almost 50 years, I don’t understand this.”
Greenville Police Chief Delando Wilson was also on the call and added that prior to those citations being issued, there was a warning issued to everyone on the premises and “quite a few” people actually departed once the warning was issued.
Simmons reiterated that while they are not trying to “shut down” worship, the order was put in place to minimize risk as much as possible and protect lives as the council has received several phone calls from residents, family members of the elderly and other members of the community about practices still ongoing which puts others at risk.
“Let’s just be creative for about two weeks,” Simmons pleaded. “If we begin to allow people to do it, the order wouldn’t have any meaning and people’s lives would be put at risk.”
Pastor Jae Smith of Restoration Church let his fellow pastors and ministers know he shared their sentiments as well as the mayor and the council’s sentiments.
“This is not easy and every pastor I know, we are all trying to figure this out as we go; we are all trying to make the best decisions with limited information,” Smith said.
Smith noted as pastors and even city officials, particularly as a mayor, the love and concern for people is a strong commonality and the driving force behind such roles.
Smith continued, “Right now we’re all upset for the same reason — we’re upset because we really care about people and we’re trying to figure out the best way to do that and that’s totally understandable. However, as pastors, we have to be creative in this moment.”
He said while he does not like the current circumstances, as they may be based on the poor decisions of a few, he understands the mandates are for the sake of protecting people.
“As pastors, even if we don’t agree with that, we should be able to respect that part,” Smith added. “Right now, we can still be the church…church does not shut down just because we can’t have church at our building.”
Simmons also highlighted pertinent information he received during a call with representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA).
According to its website, the SBA Payroll Protection program provides forgivable loans up to $10 million to small businesses left financially distressed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Under the SBA Payroll Protection Program, churches can apply…during the call we learned pastors’ salaries can be paid and does not have to be paid back because the government knows small churches are being hit,” Simmons said to the pastors and ministers. “From February 2019 until June of 2019, if you pay your clerk, if you pay your janitor or anyone that comes in, you get that amount times 2.5% and you don’t have to pay it back.”
Simmons said the program loan covers rent payments, loans, as well as other debts — all of it is covered under the protection of the stimulus package.
In depth information about the U.S. Small Business Administration program is available on its website at sba.gov.
