Copyright 2023 Grace Community Church. The virus itself would only get worse, with COVID-19 caseloads and deaths hitting their highest levels days in the months after that hearing. Theres another virus loose in the world, Mr. MacArthur said, and its the virus of deception.. In some situations, they implied women were looking for fault in their husbands. The tone of the courts opinion in the Chula Vista case was very government-friendly, while the Tandon ruling was very government-hostile, McDonald said. She blogs at The Migraine Runner. County officials then sued the church to require it to comply with COVID-19 protocolsincluding barring large group indoor worship and requiring social distancing at outdoor worship. In the first meeting with Bill Shannon, it was made known that my safety was not the No. 5:21). The Opportunity Sheet is a weekly publication of Grace Community Church, offered as a courtesy to our church family. Cho never imagined himself being in this position and advocating from outside Grace Community Church. His review, drawing from his legal background and training, became part of an initial internal investigation. Yet, as Cho brought up in his letters to key elders last year, a string of women over the past decade said they received different counsel at his church when they feared for their safety or their childrens safety. A judge on Tuesday rejected Los Angeles County's attempt to temporarily bar a large church in Sun Valley from holding indoor worship services where hundreds of unmasked . (CTs policy allows victims of abuse to go unnamed for the sake of privacy and safety; her identity and the details of her account have been verified in reporting this story. Sun Valley, CA 91352 Maps and Directions. It was a long and winding road to get to the legal resolution, tapping into many of the issues that have polarized American society since the pandemic took hold early in 2020. Its worship.. This is an egregious sin.. Grace Community Church attorneys cite two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in their motion to lift the preliminary injunction in its entirety and end the countys effort contempt effort. On Monday, members of the House Judiciary Committee met in New York for a hearing on violent crime in the city. 13248 Roscoe Blvd. Contact. Last Week's Attendance: Cantonese 177, Mandarin 121, English 135, Children 59, Tendercare 18 . The church filed its lawsuit on the grounds that the restrictions infringed on religious freedom. The county and the state will each pay $400,000 to Sun Valley's Grace Community Church to settle a prolonged legal battle that began when the church refused to follow Newsom's COVID-19 restrictions last year. If you have ever felt like most worship music sounds the same, it may be because the worship music is written by just a handful of songwriters.. GCCs reach extends far beyond the crowds that fill its 3,500-seat auditorium for multiple services each Sunday, through MacArthurs popular books and commentaries; affiliated schools The Masters Seminary and The Masters University; Grace to You teaching ministry; and the churchs annual Shepherds Conference. A representative for Grace Community Church said the conference would be held on a later date, which has not been announced. Its amazing to see the Lord protecting us, he said. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to authorize a $400,000 payment to settle a legal battle with Grace Community Church over lead pastor John MacArthurs defiance of COVID-19 restrictions in the early months of the pandemic. Los Angeles County officials had said that the Shepherds Conference was not a religious service, but a prohibited indoor gathering. Nothing will come to us except the affirmation that the Lord preserved and protected us through this, MacArthur said. Los Angeles County modified its restrictions to allow indoor worship in December, while most statewide restrictions that applied to churches had been eliminated by mid-June. Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT. Bhutanese Nepali Refugees Turn Their Trials into Zeal for Evangelism, ERLC President, Covenant Parent Urges Tennessee to Pass Proposed Gun Reform. The county pointed to an interview that Mr. MacArthur had done with Tucker Carlson of Fox News in which Mr. MacArthur said he had held a Sunday service for 3,000 people who hugged each other and they didnt wear masks and they sang songs., Mr. MacArthur had argued that government officials had no power to forbid such services, pointing to Scripture to declare that no earthly state has a right to restrict, delimit, or forbid the assembling of believers.. Featured; Sunday Bulletin; Newsletter; Videos; Books; Opportunity Sheet . In court filings obtained by CT, she stated pastor and elder Rodney Andersen told her that she should submit to her husband as unto the Lord rather than provoke him. Thats when I began to realize how many people were ill.. I was a vocal loyalist, said Cho, who now objects to what he sees as blind trust among many of the men he used to serve and lead beside. The church regularly held packed morning services, defying a court order directing them to refrain from holding indoor services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No one from GCC responded to requests by CT to discuss the churchs counseling philosophy or response to abuse, or to questions about specific cases. The women were reminded of the biblical directive for wives to submit to their husbands. Los Angeles County had sued the church and its pastor, John MacArthur, last August after officials said he had he opened the church and held a large indoor worship service with unmasked attendees, in violation of state and county rules. The remainder was forgiven as part of the settlement. From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles County has been committed to protecting the health and safety of its residents. Responding to Roys report,MacArthursaid, I have never heard or seen any evidence indicating that any of the people on that list believe they were infected with COVID-19 in some gathering at Grace Community Church. Its not unique. This mutualization of sin can take place in church settings where both parties are asked to confess and seek forgiveness from each other. Women told CT that pastors saw their husbands continued involvement in counseling, caring treatment of their kids in supervised settings, and verbal promises that the abuse would stop as indications that they no longer posed a threat. Judge gives Grace Community Church, LA County a chance to settle COVID case. An evangelical megachurch, under pressure from health officials, said on Friday that it had postponed an indoor conference that was expected to draw as many as 3,000 people from across the country to Southern California. We are grateful to the countys faith organizations for their continued partnership to keep their congregants and the entire community safe and protected from COVID-19.. Call to prayer on Sunday evenings, 5:00-5:50 PM in the Hive (H114). Email summercamp@gcsny.ca, attention Hiring Committee before May 15th. Sunday after Sunday, people packed Grace Community Church and belted out hymns, openly violating Los Angeles County's prohibitions against indoor services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sun Valley, California, megachurch is best known for MacArthurs preaching and prides itself on its fidelity to the Bible over the whims of the world. The Opportunity Sheet is a weekly publication of Grace Community Church, offered as a courtesy to our church family. Eileen Gray said hearing about other women who had been blamed, accused, and often retraumatized by leaders at Grace motivated her to share her account publicly years later, once her children were adults. Anyone can read what you share. For this story, CT spoke with eight women who recounted how they and others at Grace Community Church had been counseled to avoid reporting their husbands and fathers to authorities, to accept their apologies, and to continue to submit to them. Each of the women CT spoke with said at some point they considered themselves partly responsible for their husbands behavior or had a church leader indicate they were. We understand that. This year we are studying the Gospel of John, one of the most cherished books in all Scripture. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report in early August saying vaccination offers higher protection than previous COVID-19 infection alone. Pastor John MacArthur leads Grace Community Church in California in a video posted October 2020. God has a way of taking care of us as we love each other and share our germs, MacArthur told congregants, who laughed in response on Sunday. Though Cho stepped down quietly, he continued to hear from other women from his former church. Dean Musgrove/The Orange County Register, via Associated Press, California is experiencing a super bloom,. "From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles County has been committed to protecting the health and safety of its residents.". Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Grace Community Church is led by MacArthur, one of Americas longest-standing and most influential pastors. The pastor brought up again claims of her bizarre behavior and wasnt inclined to reconsider her discipline. I know God is God and man is man, but I really trusted those people at the church, she said. By Gods amazing grace, the truth of His Word has sounded forth from Grace Community Church throughout five decades of faithful preaching. The victims were regularly quoted Scriptures on forgiveness, trust, love, and submissionand were told to reconcile and return home even in cases where they feared for their safety and their childrens safety. The county's board of supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a settlement with Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, and its pastor, the Rev.
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