Kentucky Coronavirus: Beshear asks churches to halt in-person services for weeks
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked religious leaders Thursday to suspend all in-person gatherings at their houses of worship for the next four Sundays.
Beshear first made his request during a regular call with the Kentucky Council of Churches, then made the same request of all churches during his daily update on COVID-19 in Kentucky.
“This is a request from the governor, not a mandate, and it seems perfectly reasonable given the situation we are in with COVID-19,” said Kent Gilbert, president of the council and pastor of the historic Union Church in Berea.
Beshear said his request to houses of worship starts Friday and runs through the end of Sunday, Dec. 13. He said if churches do meet in person, it would be safer to do so outside, possibly at drive-in services.
Beshear said he has regular calls with the council every two weeks and will be reaching out to other religious groups in coming days.
The governor “was very careful not to infringe on religious freedom as he reported on the severity of the virus,” said Gilbert, whose organization represents 11 denominations and about 1,110 congregations in the state.
The Rev. Hershael York, pastor of Buck Run Baptist Church in Frankfort, said he is “extremely frustrated” with the governor’s lack of communications with major churches in the state.
“We are not against the governor in this. We want to keep our people safe but he should reach out to us,” said York.
Beshear mandated additional restrictions Wednesday aimed at curbing a third surge of coronavirus cases in Kentucky. Those restrictions included closing most schools from Nov. 23 until January, eliminating indoor seating at restaurants and bars until Dec. 13, limiting private indoor social gatherings to two households and eight people, limiting venues for weddings and funerals to 25 people and indoor social gatherings to two households, not exceeding eight people.
On Thursday, the governor reported the highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases — 3,649 — and 30 new virus-related deaths, the second highest number in one day in Kentucky
Gilbert said the governor told his group Thursday about 35 incidents where houses of worship in Kentucky have been “super spreaders” of the virus. Not all were worship services, with some at funerals, weddings and other activities, he said.
Catholic churches will continue in-person services
The Catholic Conference of Kentucky said it will continue to offer in-person and virtual services.
“As for public worship, Kentucky’s Catholic bishops reiterate the importance of following all of the guidelines that have been in place for the past several months,” said a statement released by Jason Hall, executive director of the conference. “Our commitment to providing the opportunity to participate in the church’s liturgies remotely will continue, as will the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass. At this time, we will not be suspending public liturgies, but encourage all to act in a responsible way that respects the seriousness of this pandemic and the health and safety of all.”
Todd Gray, executive director-treasurer of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, said the 2,360 churches in the state’s largest denomination will “continue to make decisions based on the well being of the congregation they serve.”
“I am certain these godly leaders will continue to do the same in light of this most recent request from our governor,” he said.
York, who has been pastor of Buck Run for 17 years, said his church will have in-person services this weekend and will be going entirely online the Sunday after Thanksgiving for at least a week, maybe longer.
“We will be watching the numbers of COVID-19 cases,” he said.
Imam Haitham Issa, president of the Islamic Society of Central Kentucky, said its houses of worship will remain closed until further notice.
Beshear declared a COVID-19 state of emergency in March. After banning all mass gatherings, including church services, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order that allowed churches to reopen immediately, as long as they followed social distancing and hygiene guidelines.
Later, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from a church in California to block enforcement of state restrictions on attendance at religious services.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 2:18 PM.
