A Jonesboro congregation that continued to meet, despite a global pandemic, will be ordered to suspend large group gatherings, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Friday evening.
The state Department of Health will be notifying Awaken Church's pastor, Chad Gonzales, ahead of Sunday's worship services.
"It'll either be today or tomorrow," Hutchinson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Friday after speaking with state Health Secretary Nate Smith.
Previous appeals to Gonzales were unsuccessful, he said.
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"Our public-health officials have met with him, and if they're not going to voluntarily stop the congregational-type meeting, then we'll have to issue a directive," the governor said.
"We have to take that step because it endangers not just the people at the church but the community as well," Hutchinson said.
Reached by email Friday evening, Gonzales said he had not spoken with any state officials about their concerns.
"If the state did suspend our ability as a church to meet temporarily due to the virus, then yes, we would comply," he wrote. "I'm unaware of any state officials that have reached out to us. Our office is closed on Fridays, but I'm unaware of any phone calls this week to the church nor have I received any emails from any governmental official."
In an email earlier in the day, the pastor had emphasized his willingness to abide by government orders.
"If our federal or state government would have forbidden us gathering, then I certainly would have complied; however, our governor exempted churches from the gathering of 10 directive," he wrote.
If it takes an order to obtain compliance, Arkansas is willing to issue one.
"I appreciate his willingness to follow the directive of the state, and since the guidance wasn't sufficient, we'll make it a directive," Hutchinson said.
States across the country have banned large group meetings in recent weeks. The restrictions, in many jurisdictions, do not apply to religious services.
On March 26 -- 15 days after declaring a public-health emergency -- Hutchinson signed a proclamation restricting gatherings of 10 or more people. But he exempted businesses, manufacturers and places of worship, among others, advising them instead to "limit person-to-person contact and maintain appropriate social distancing of at least six (6) feet to prevent the spread of this virus."
Last month, nearly all of the state's houses of worship voluntarily suspended corporate worship services. Many congregations have been livestreaming their services instead.
"I respect the separation of church and state, but whenever it crosses the line and endangers the general public, this is necessary," Hutchinson said.
In the email, Gonzales said his congregation has taken steps to satisfy public-health guidelines.
"Due to the increased concern of others, we have implemented several safety practices so as to follow CDC recommendations. All interior doors have been left open, no offering buckets are being passed, we have asked everyone to refrain from hugging or shaking hands, sanitizer is being made available and we are not holding children's classes," he wrote. "We are also more than complying with the 6 ft social distancing [request]. Our auditorium can seat 300 but during this time of quarantine, we have only had around 30-40 people actually in the auditorium for our regular services and around 10-15 for our Healing Academy on Monday evenings."
State officials have discouraged large church gatherings, noting what happened at First Assembly of God in Greers Ferry over the past month.
Members of that congregation were exposed to the coronavirus during a gathering in early March. At the time, there were no known covid-19 cases in Arkansas, and no health emergency had been declared.
Since then, more than three dozen congregants have tested positive for the virus; at least three have died.
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Gonzales said he was following his conscience by continuing to meet.
"For us to not have services due to a virus would be for us to go against our extremely strong convictions of the power of God to protect and the power of God to heal," he wrote.
"Until there is an order from any level of our government to cease meeting physically, we will continue holding services but with continued levels of precautionary methods for the sake of those in attendance," he wrote.
In his Friday email to the Democrat-Gazette, Gonzales said his faith compelled him to act as he did.
"The major focus of my ministry has been in the area of healing and I felt that if I was to close our doors due to a virus, it would absolutely betray and undercut everything I believe, preach and am endeavoring to do. We never shut down for H1N1 which infected over 60 million and killed over 12,000 or the regular flu that has already infected 29 million and killed an estimated 16,000 people this season in the US," he wrote.
Worshippers with misgivings are encouraged not to attend this month's services, he noted.
"We have told those that are the least bit concerned about their well being either due to being elderly, having weakened immune systems or any reason they may feel concerned, to please stay home and watch the livestream.
Worshipping at Awaken Church is safer than grocery shopping or going to the gas station, he suggested.
"In all actuality, people have a much greater increased risk of contracting any type of virus by going to Walmart than coming into our church," he added.
Information for this article was contributed by Francisca Jones of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 04/04/2020