Churches’ lawsuit challenges San Jose ban of indoor worship
SAN JOSE, Calif. (BP) -- Two San Jose churches have filed a federal lawsuit claiming a coronavirus-related ban of indoor worship violates their First Amendment rights. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court by Southridge Church (a California Southern Baptist church plant) and Calvary Chapel San Jose, alleges Santa Clara County's shelter-in-place orders "target" churches by forbidding them to gather indoors for worship while permitting people to gather indoors at shopping centers, real estate offices, summer camps and summer schools among other locations. Additionally, the county has acknowledged the right to attend large protests regarding racial justice while restricting outdoor worship to 25 people.
Camp Fire relief winds down; churches ‘still here’
PARADISE, Calif. (BP) -- Months after the deadliest wildfire in state history destroyed her home, an 86-year-old woman in Northern California's Butte County was forced to leave her temporary residence at Motel 6 when her federal aid expired. So she asked Magalia Pines Baptist Church in Magalia for help. That very day someone donated a fifth-wheel trailer to the church, and members began setting it up on her property as a temporary residence.
