THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — For the last 19 years Pastor Rob McCoy has been giving his Sunday sermon at the Godspeak Calvary Chapel. And since re-opening on May 31 after the initial COVID-19 lockdown, he has continued to give those sermons inside his church, refusing to follow state and county COVID-19 restrictions and orders not to.
“You don't quarantine the healthy, quarantine the sick. And we're watching as our businesses are being destroyed, our families are being devastated. Our children are being traumatized by this, this is unconscionable,” McCoy said as he stood in the atrium of the church.
The congregation of over 1,000 people has continued to allow the church to fill to its 444 person seating capacity on Sundays. Masks and social distancing are not required, but McCoy said they’ve taken other safety precautions.
“We have ionizers and UV lights that circulate the air and kill any airborne viruses to the best of our ability. Since May 31st when we re-opened, we haven’t had a single case. No one has reported to me. It’s not like we’re hiding our eyes and we don’t want to hear it. I’ve been asking.”
McCoy does not believe the COVID-19 numbers warrant should prevent people from gathering in churches.
“You're looking at empirical data for the virus 99.8% survival rate and your fear now denies our constitutional rights.”
Mass gatherings like the recent one at a party on Mulholland Drive, where three people were shot and a woman died, have continued despite state and county mandates restricting them. And now officials are cracking down. The Ventura County Board of Supervisors held a closed session Special Meeting on Tuesday August 4, and authorized giving county council the discretion to file litigation seeking temporary restraining orders or other enforcement against persons or entities who are not compliant with state or local health orders. McCoy is expecting officials at his door any day, but he’s not closing them.
“It doesn't make any sense. We are ruining our county. We're ruining our state. When is everybody going to wake up? This is a scam-demic.”
McCoy said he believes the restrictions are becoming more detrimental than the virus itself.
“77 deaths in a county of 850 thousand is one 100th of 1%. We grieve for the people that we've lost in our county, we don't make light of that but to use that statistic and shutter all businesses, and then close churches.... what is the point of that? It doesn't make any sense. Are we going to do that for the flu, and the common cold, and everything else?”
With the new health orders in place, Ventura County officials may soon come calling. But McCoy said keeping his church open is his calling.