Chicago church opens its doors Sunday in 'passive resistance' to Illinois stay-at-home order
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago church opened its doors for in-person Sunday services on the second weekend of Illinois' modified stay-at-home order.
People gathered at Metro Praise International Church on the city's Northwest Side Sunday.
Church officials announced the reopening of in-person services to the public in what they call "passive resistance to Gov. Pritzker's shelter in place order."
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The church said it's hosting 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services on Sundays.
"This is a principled stand for our First Amendment rights and, more importantly, our biblical mandate to gather with other Christians in worship and fellowship (Hebrews 10:24-25). Therefore, effective May 10, 2020, we will resume our 9am and 11am services as we had before the order," the church said in a statement on Facebook.
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Gov. JB Pritzker defended his cautious reopening plan during an interview on CNN Sunday.
"We are being very careful. We have a 28-day period that we're in now during the month of May, in which we're watching all these numbers. Monitoring them, " Pritzker said.
The governor said Illinois officials have "done a lot to make sure that we're keeping these numbers moving in the right direction."
"We will not reopen unless we meet all of the standards that I've set for doing so," Pritzker said.
