![]() ![]() Three among 7,000 congregants is not an outbreak, they said, and they encouraged worshipers to keep attending services. Church officials in a statement released last month dismissed the investigation, saying it involves three part-time employees who have not been hospitalized. They included a young couple who were hospitalized and a visiting pastor who died of the disease shortly after attending a church conference in March.Ĭounty health officials launched an outbreak investigation at the church in October after three other people contracted the coronavirus. Yet congregants have indeed been stricken and hospitalized with COVID-19, according to MacArthur’s own account in a church interview in April. Throughout the summer, MacArthur repeatedly insisted no one from the church had contracted the coronavirus or been hospitalized with COVID-19. ![]() “And the one who’s behind the virus of deception is the arch deceiver Satan himself.” “There’s another virus loose in the world, and it’s the virus of deception,” MacArthur told the congregation in his Aug. The congregation has not only continued services but has also questioned the existence of the coronavirus. Most religious institutions have been following public health rules, turning to livestreams, outdoor services and drive-through events, but a handful have objected, arguing that the government doesn’t have the authority to restrict their prayer practices.įew churches have captured a bigger spotlight for their defiance than the megachurch in Sun Valley. This picture of worship in the time of the coronavirus has emerged as a seemingly intractable legal and emotional drama that turns on sharply differing visions of safe behavior during a pandemic. When the offering plate came around, the congregants gave $40,046, almost six times more than the previous Sunday, according to the church bulletins. They hugged and sang hymns and shook hands and erupted in applause during MacArthur’s sermon. Three cases have been confirmed at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, which had defied orders from Los Angeles County public health officials and a judge to stop holding indoor services. megachurch that defied public health orders California Coronavirus outbreak strikes L.A. ![]()
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