Granite Bay Today Justin Ha

On July 13th Governor Newsom announced another set of guidelines for the increasingly growing COVID-19.

Sandwiched between the many rollbacks of stores and businesses was the immediate end to indoor operations in places of worship.

But just one week later Destiny Christian Church opened its doors to around 1,000 people over the course of three services.

"I'm going to obey God. I'm not going to obey the governor's mandate," Senior Pastor Greg Fairrington said to KCRA3.

According to the Rocklin pastor, the church is operating at 25 percent of normal capacity with reserved seating and an optional outdoor video service.

The debate, on a fundamental level, is about whether the church is an essential service or not.

While the indoor services are in direct violation of the government’s mandate many church attendees are flocking to Destiny for the in-person experience. To many, the protection Destiny Church has provided is adequate.

This situation has spawned #Openthedoors, which seems to be a microcosm of the national #Letusworship movement taking place at California’s Capitol and beyond.

Granite Bay Today reached out to Destiny for comment and received no response.

Resources: 

Destiny website: http://destinyonline.com/

Destiny’s reopening statement: https://www.facebook.com/gregfairrington/videos/569036540670239/

Destiny’s PPP loan: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article244351182.html

COVID-19 cases in Placer County: https://www.placer.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/46267/dashboard?bidId=

KCRA3 article: https://www.kcra.com/article/rocklin-church-to-defy-californias-covid-19-restrictions/33342542

Sacramento Bee article: https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article244222692.html

#Letusworship website: https://www.letusworship.us/