On Wednesday night, the Supreme Court ruled against NY's restrictions on Catholic & Jewish houses of worship in Brooklyn & Queens. This decision was not a final decision against the entire restriction imposed on all churches. Instead, this is a temporary injunction that the state cannot enforce the restrictions against the Diocese of Brooklyn and the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn & Queens. While we pray that these restrictions will be lifted for ALL churches, the restrictions currently still apply to us at Bethel.

In this temporary ruling, Justice Gorsuch & Justice Kavanaugh defended First Amendment religious liberty and spoke strongly and scathingly against the governor's mandate imposing attendance limits on religious services. They spoke about the merits of the case and the likelihood of a final court victory for religious freedom should the case proceed further.

Our prayer is that the restrictions against houses of worship would be lifted and that each church be allowed the freedom to operate safely and responsibly. In the meantime, we continue to comply with the restriction that currently limits our worship gathering to 25 people/service. This means a requirement of an RSVP for attendance. If you previously RSVP'd & cannot make it, please reply to this email so that we can free up spots for others.

RSVP Link: https://reopen.church/r/r9bB1O5Q

To read the Court's decision, you can see this link: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20a87_4g15.pdf 

Additional news articles:
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/11/26/scotus-rules-against-ny-religious-gathering-restrictions/
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/supreme-court-blocks-nys-covid-restrictions-limiting-attendance-at-houses-of-worship/2747210/