Drive-in Permission Fills Rio Church’s Lot

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RIO GRANDE – The Rio Grande Bible Church’s lot was filled for a drive-in service May 17, the first since Gov. Phil Murphy removed his restrictions on such events earlier in the week.
Pastor Jeff McLeod and his parishioners have flooded local, state and federal officials with emails and calls, as they sought to remove restrictions imposed by the governor in March. Church members sought to exercise their constitutionally-protected right to worship while doing so in a manner that would not endanger themselves or their community during the COVID-19 outbreak.
McLeod said from the start of his struggle with the governor’s order that “the virus is real.” The design of his drive-in service was always one that respected social distancing, while promoting a form of communal worship, one in which an individual’s beeping car horn took the place of a shouted “amen.”
Across the country, churches have battled with restrictions that closed down communal services even as the churches asserted claims of constitutional protection. As churches filed suit, the results were anything but uniform.
In Kentucky, a ban on religious services was upheld by the courts while one in Kansas was struck down. In a Mississippi case, the Federal Department of Justice entered the litigation, in support of the parishioners.
The struggle in New Jersey has been muted in part by Murphy’s clarification of his restrictions on large gatherings of more than 10 individuals. By allowing drive-in services with appropriate social distancing, Murphy eased the tension between church and state, but he did not eliminate it.
The effective closing of church services has left bruises, invisible but real. Many are still in rebellion against a designation of church services as non-essential.
In a time of pain and confusion, they argue coming together for worship is important and necessary. Instead of seeking ways to safely allow the practice of their religion, they confronted state restrictions that closed their churches. The rancor will not easily be dissipated.
A sign outside the Rio Grande church says, “Read the First Amendment.” The constitutional protection offered in the U.S. Constitution, and also in the New Jersey State Constitution, is for many inviolate. As McLeod reads those provisions, he does not see the exception that allows a governor to close down religious services. For him, that part of the struggle is not over. 
For those who feel as he does, the governor’s easing of restrictions does not resolve the issue of Murphy’s earlier imposition of the restrictions, which they do not grant he had the power to impose. McLeod’s message on the First Amendment is one he has now had printed on t-shirts.
The church’s Facebook page provides access to a short seven-minute video, in which McLeod and his wife, Bridget, discuss the last several weeks of COVID-19’s arrival in the county, the governor’s orders, and the closing of services for groups of 10 or more.
Below that video is another, which records Sunday evening’s drive-in service. The church held two that day, morning and evening, as cars packed the church parking lot, heard the service through their car radios, and celebrated a new way of joining in a community of the faithful.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.