Las Vegas churches hold Sunday services after court ruling

After about a month of not attending church in person, Peter Herman was eager to hear what his pastor had to say.

Herman, 78, has been a member of Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain for 14 years. Last week, his place of worship was one of two to score a favorable ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned a state-mandated limit on religious gatherings.

Before, places of worship had gatherings capped at 50 attendees or 25 percent of fire code capacity, whichever was less. Attendance is now capped only at 25 percent of capacity.

“It’s way, way, way overdue,” Herman said. “And it not only helped this church, but it helped all the other churches here in Las Vegas.”

He has attended “protest services” at the church but took a break from in-person worship after Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a statewide “pause” in November to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The governor extended the pause last week.

Herman said he feels safer at church than at the grocery store.

“This is God’s kingdom right here,” he said. “And I feel that our God is protecting all of us.”

Herman’s pastor, the Rev. Jimmy Morales, estimated that about 180 people attended services in the church near Craig Road and Rancho Drive. He said the church had a slightly higher attendance than normal on Sunday.

Morales said worshipping in the presence of other believers is necessary to a healthy spiritual life.

“And so this is just healthy church life, really,” he said. “That’s what it is.”

On Sunday, Morales said he was going to deliver a message to his congregants that the church is rejoicing but won’t be cavalier about their safety.

Most of the sanctuary at Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain is supposed to be spaced-out for social distancing by family, but that is not mandated, and masks are not required during services, Morales said.

“Because they’re worshipping, they’re singing, they’re praising God, and we see very little value in having them sit there and wear masks during a service,” Morales said.

A separate, “high-risk” section is socially distanced with only people who are wearing masks.

The Rev. Paul Marc Goulet of the International Church of Las Vegas said the court’s ruling is fair.

The congregation he spoke to at his first Sunday service was below the 25 percent capacity now allowed.

“But we’ve not been pushing it because we still have four services, and we’re just going to kind of feel our way through this,” he said.

Sunday’s attendance was not the largest the church has experienced during the pandemic, Goulet said. He said the church, at Cimarron Road and Westcliff Drive, has tried to limit attendance but would never turn a congregant away.

Goulet’s church handed out small bottles of hand sanitizer but does not require congregants to wear masks during services.

Gary Colombo, 64, attended church in person on Sunday, just like he has every week.

“There’s a whole different dynamic when (you’re) in the presence of the Lord with the congregation,” he said.

He said he does not need the church to take steps to mitigate the spread of the virus because he already feels safe.

“I’ve been close to death many times,” he said. “And because I’m a Christian and I know Jesus Christ personally, I’m not afraid to die, but I certainly am not going to live in fear,” he said.

Nevada has recorded more than 200,000 coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic. The state has a reported death toll of 2,781.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar @reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.