Here’s what church was like in Fresno the Sunday after Newsom closed indoor services

On the first Sunday following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order that churches must once again cease indoor worship in Fresno County, hundreds of people showed up at CrossCity Christian Church to take part in an outdoor worship service.

Cars lined up to turn into the parking lot of the north Fresno church just before 8 a.m. — an early start time to get ahead of the summer heat.

Congregants, some wearing masks but many without, gathered in close groups in the large courtyard outside the main worship center, waiting for a worship band to begin playing. The crowd of several hundred was about a tenth of what the church would see for its two services on a typical Sunday morning and those services, one at 9:15 a.m. and another at 11 a.m., were streamed and available online.

But it was important for the church to have an in-person service “lovingly within the updated guidelines,” said associate pastor Brent Deffenbacher.

“There is such a hunger and desire for a congregation to meet.”

Cornerstone defies state orders

Across town, folks arrived for services at Cornerstone Church, greeted by an attendant in a blue surgical mask. Against the governor’s orders, the downtown Fresno church held its services inside the historic Wilson Theatre.

Pastor Jim Franklin was one of several church leaders across the state to announce last week plans to keep their churches open and indoors. In explaining the church’s position, Franklin said the church has proven in the last several weeks that it has ample safety protocols in place, and that churches in the area have been operating safely. The county health officials have seen no outbreaks from places of worship, Franklin said.

Attendance at Cornerstone has been down some since the church reopened at the end of May because it has not been able to operate its daycare service and it has been advising people with conditions that would make them susceptible to the virus to remain at home and view services online.

“The No. 1 thing as a pastor that I’m concerned about is the welfare of the people in my auditorium — the sheep that I shepherd as a pastor,” Franklin said in an video explaining the decision to remain open. “I want to be sure that they are physically safe, that they are spiritually safe, that they are mentally safe. And so we want to see if we can do that. And I believe the answer to that is yes.”

More than that, he sees the church as serving a critical role in society, one that is protected by the First Amendment.

Drive-in services, canceled mass and home church

Saint Rest Baptist Church held its services outdoors and drive-in style, with congregants staying inside their cars. The southwest Fresno Church has been holding these parking-lot services for just about two months, said Pastor D.J. Criner.

“It was hard at first. It was hot outside,” he said. Temperatures shot to around 90 degrees by midday.

The church stopped doing indoor services March 15 and chose not to go back inside, even after restrictions on indoor services were eased.

Criner knows many people are disappointed by the back-and-forth that is happening with state regulations, but “we are still a church, we are just doing it in a different way,” he said.

“We can’t make this the government versus the church.”

Sunday Mass was canceled at St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Fresno, though a 10 a.m. Mass was broadcast online from Fresno’s Holy Spirit Catholic Church, according to the church’s website.

The Fresno Diocese closed all sites in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Kings and Tulare counties following the governor’s orders. In a letter to the church staff, Bishop Joseph Brennan said outside Masses could continue, but with a maximum of 100 parishioners and only if the temperature is below 90 degrees.

The Well Church continued with remote services Sunday, asking its congregants to join in what they call a “home church house party.” The church, which runs four site in the Fresno area, pivoted to online services earlier this month, after two of its staff members contracted the coronavirus and others were forced to self-quarantine.

Fresno County nears 10,000 coronavirus cases

This all comes as Fresno County is nearing 10,000 cases of the coronavirus. The county’s public health department reported nearly 400 more positive tests on Saturday. On Friday, the department reported 7,133 cases that remained active.

The number of cases that are leading to hospitalization is also on the climb. More than 280 patients in area hospitals had or were suspected of having the coronavirus as of Thursday.

And hospitals are already brimming with an abundance of other patients from illnesses, accidents and surgeries. Each new patient requiring admission for COVID-19 simply pushes the medical centers above their normal capacity, said Dr. Rais Vohra, the county’s interim health officer — and edges the county closer to potentially opening a 250-bed field hospital currently in standby mode at the Fresno Convention Center.

This story was originally published July 19, 2020 at 12:01 PM.