Fresno church fought against California’s COVID rules. Now the state has to pay
Cornerstone Church in downtown Fresno has been awarded $400,000 in legal fees for its fight against the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, its pastor announced on Wednesday.
Cornerstone joined with Cross Culture Christian Center in Lodi in a lawsuit against the state that ended with California paying the legal fees for the churches. San Joaquin County officials have also agreed to pay $100,000 to Cross Culture Christian Center, according to the church’s law firm, the National Center for Law & Policy.
Cornerstone also benefited from San Diego-based South Bay United Pentecostal Church’s lawsuit in United States Supreme Court against California and Gov. Gavin Newsom for the right to hold indoor services. The church argued Newsom’s order violated the Constitution’s protection of the free exercise of religion.
The court knocked down the state’s prohibition on indoor church services in February. The state of California agreed in June to pay a combined $2.15 million in attorneys fees in the pair of lawsuits.
The Rev. Jim Franklin of Cornerstone said he was pleased by the court’s decision and the award for legal expenses. “For us, it was not about the money,” Franklin said. “It was about protecting our constitutional freedoms, and establishing a precedent.”
Fresno’s Cornerstone has continued to hold church services since May 31, 2020. Franklin has said the meetings inside the Wilson Theatre have been safe.
Church services were placed under restrictions in California during the pandemic along with some types of businesses and public events deemed nonessential.
“Now, in the state of California churches are essential. We’re at the top of the list,” Franklin said.
At least one congregant from Cornerstone Church died from COVID-19, but that person contracted it outside of the church, according to Franklin. He said Wednesday he had no evidence any member of the congregation contracted the virus in the downtown church, though he confirmed he was aware of church-goers who got sick.
Franklin said in March that Wilson Theatre was armed with six dry hydrogen peroxide bio-defense units in the auditorium. Patented by a company called Synexis, the units work continuously to reduce harmful microbes in the air and on surfaces.
The Fresno church operated at a limited capacity when it first re-opened last year, but has returned to full capacity. Franklin said it is up to church-goers to wear masks or stay home and watch online if necessary, and the church does not impose any restrictions.
Dean Broyles, the head of the National Center for Law & Policy, said the churches shouldn’t have had to fight for the right to hold services.
“While we are pleased with this ultimate result, this epic legal battle was avoidable and unnecessary,” he said in a prepared statement. “Very early in the pandemic, I politely asked Governor Newsom to do his constitutional duty as our public servant by, at a minimum, treating churches as ‘essential,’ as other state governors have done. Unfortunately, he ignored my written request.”
Spokesmen for California Attorney General Rob Bonta wasn’t immediately available for comment.
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Fresno church fought against California’s COVID rules. Now the state has to pay."
