The debate over constitutional rights and religious freedoms in the COVID-19 age is playing out at an Evangelical church in Louisiana.
. With the pastor and the protester, the conflict progressed publicly in this suburb just outside the state capital, winning both men passionate defenders and detractors.Some passersby have told the protester, Trey Bennett, that he’s doing the Lord’s work. But he has also been cursed by people like the man who slowed down his truck next to Bennett on Sunday and rolled down the window.“Bless this church and people of faith,” the man said, smiling. “May you burn in hell.
The Rev. Tony Spell has held more than a dozen services at Life Tabernacle Church, some drawing 1,800 worshippers, since the governor issued an order in March banning large crowds. Just before Easter, Vice President Mike Pence pleaded for churches not to hold services with more than 10 people. Spell announced he would still preach and asked members to donate their federal stimulus checks to the ministry.Like Spell, the 39-year-old Bennett grew up in a religious family with its own business . He loved his “church-heavy” Baton Rouge suburb and graduated from nearby Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in history and religious studies.
“People’s lives are more important than the right to assemble,” he said. “I don’t want to get coronavirus, and I don’t want it spread around my area. We already have higher rates of coronavirus in Baton Rouge.”
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