(ChurchLeaders) Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a lower federal court to re-evaluate California’s pandemic-related restrictions on in-person worship. In what Liberty Counsel attorney Mat Staver calls a “huge victory,” SCOTUS vacated a September ruling against his clients, Pasadena-based Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry. Justices ordered the district court to reconsider its decision in light of the high court’s recent 5-4 ruling in a New York case.
Harvest Rock Seeks Immediate Action
Staver, who says California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “draconian” public health order bans indoor worship for 99.1 percent of state residents, expects quick relief for Harvest Rock as well as upcoming challenges from other churches. “The bottom line result,” says the attorney, “is that where the court needs to go is inevitable. What the (Supreme) Court did last week and what they did (Thursday), it’s a whole new landscape, and I think they’ve telegraphed quite clearly the direction they’re going.”