California Churches Free at Last!

Church and Worship Are Now Forever Legal in California!

California churches and places of worship are finally free to worship as they please, not as Governor Gavin Newsom demands! California will never again be able to steal the religious freedom of Californians, thanks to a historic settlement achieved by Liberty Counsel.

Having terrorized California churches for over a year, Governor Newsom has now been forced to wave the white flag of surrender.

In Liberty Counsel’s case against Newsom, we have obtained a permanent, statewide injunction prohibiting him (and the State of California) from ever issuing another discriminatory COVID restriction on any church or place of worship in the state!

No more church closings. No more capacity limits. No more singing bans. No more fines. No more threats of prison. No more. Not ever.

California churches are once again free to be churches, free to worship and minister to people as the Lord leads, not as government dictates.

The Constitution has been fully restored and vindicated!

This is the first statewide permanent injunction in the nation. We believe it will be followed by many others in numerous other cases that we continue to pursue, in Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Virginia and elsewhere, coast to coast. Liberty Counsel is determined to ensure that the constitutional violations we have witnessed over the last year will never be repeated against the church.

It has taken us an entire year of vigorous and aggressive litigation in multiple courts, including the Supreme Court, to permanently quarantine Governor Newsom from ever trampling on churches again. Our team has invested thousands of hours into this case alone, working through the night, on weekends and holidays.

Over the past year, Governor Newsom imposed the most egregious church restrictions in the nation—banning all worship and singing, and even banning Bible studies and worship in homes!

Pastor Ché Ahn, a son of Korean immigrants, who has also planted churches in over seventy nations, recognized tyranny the moment Governor Newsom announced his church shutdown orders. It quickly became clear that neither Pastor Ché nor any of the Harvest Rock Churches and the many churches of Harvest International Ministry could comply with Newsom’s anti-church orders without violating their deeply held religious convictions.

Before we sued him, we sent Governor Newsom and his attorney general a letter to rescind the discriminatory edicts against churches and abide by the Constitution. Had they done so then, we would have cheerfully moved on.

But Newsom chose the hard way. And with each Supreme Court victory along the way, instead of changing course, he dug in his heels and hardened his heart.

We filed massive pleadings in the trial court, argued twice, more volumes at the Court of Appeals, argued twice, three emergency motions and three emergency petitions to the United States Supreme Court.

We lost initially, at seemingly every turn, but won at the Supreme Court.

We were ridiculed by judges, lawyers, the media and even some misguided friends. “This case is not winnable,” they said. Not in California. Not in the Ninth Circuit.

But God! He orchestrated a miraculous turnaround, and suddenly our losses were turned into victory upon victory, leading up to this Permanent Injunction.

Now, if God had stopped there, and only given us this Permanent Injunction, it would have been enough, and He would have still deserved much glory.

But He didn’t. He made our victory even sweeter!

Remember how in Exodus 12:35-36, we are told that when Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go, he didn’t send them away emptyhanded but gave them Egypt’s gold and silver to take with them?

For the thousands of hours and costs that Governor Newsom required us to spend to bring him to justice, he is now required to send Liberty Counsel a check for $1,350,000 million to reimburse us for a portion of the enormous investment we had to make to defend these churches in California. This will help us defend even more churches.

But there’s more! Churches like Harvest Rock Church and their pastor, Ché Ahn, who bravely stayed open despite incredible opposition are experiencing explosive revival!

While Gavin Newsom intended to empty churches, God is now filling and growing those churches! Revival is taking place.

Only God could have orchestrated so deep and wide a victory! We give Him all the glory.

News on HR 1. . .

Senate Democrats continue to push HR 1 (S 1) to impose massive voter fraud. There is some talk about a “compromise” bill, which is just a pig with lipstick. Don’t fall for it. Fax the Senate NOW. Tell them NO ON HR 1

Thank you for your prayers and for standing with us during this battle. Your prayers have sustained us and have moved the heart of our Lord.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14).

To God be the glory!

Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman

Liberty Counsel

Liberty Counsel published the original of this article, here somewhat edited, as a circular email on May 19, 2021.

Liberty Counsel®Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman—is an international nonprofit litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.

Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. ©1995-present, Liberty Counsel, with offices in Florida, Virginia and Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and the family.  

Liberty Counsel
PO Box 540774
Orlando, FL 32854
407-875-1776

 © 2021 Used by Permission

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