WORCESTER - Despite being slapped with a $300 fine for defying Gov. Charlie Baker’s ban on gatherings of more than 10 people, Kristopher D. Casey, pastor of Adams Square Baptist Church, said Monday he intends to hold church services again Wednesday and Sunday and has no intention of limiting the size of the gathering.
Casey said he is so committed to holding church services during the ban that he’s willing to get arrested standing up for his constitutional rights and his right to preach the Gospel.
The governor’s order says violations shall result in a warning for a first offense, and that violators may receive a civil citation and fine of up to $300 for a second offense. For subsequent offenses, violators may be subject to criminal penalties including a fine of up to $500, imprisonment, or both.
“I’m going to have church on Wednesday. I will happily accept the $500 find on Thursday. And then I will have church again on Sunday,” Casey said. “I’m not going to be the only pastor to be here. So if they feel that they need to arrest me, there will be somebody else to stand up and preach the Gospel.”
Adams Square Baptist Church can hold 300 to 325 people. Forty-six attendees were counted leaving through the front door of the church at 266 Lincoln St. after a service Sunday. On April 26, 56 people reportedly attended a Sunday service that Casey led at the church, drawing condemnation from city officials.
Casey, who planned to attend a Liberty Rally in Boston on Monday to urge the state government to allow businesses to reopen, confirmed that Police Chief Steven M. Sargent hand-delivered him notice of a $300 fine Monday morning for defying Gov. Charlie Baker’s ban on gatherings of more than 10 people for a second time Sunday.
“I don’t want to get fined, but I have to stand up for our constitutional rights and I have to stand up, more importantly, for what God has led me to do and say and preach and that’s the Gospel,” Casey said. “The Bill of Rights and the Constitution don’t go away because there’s a quarantine. They don’t go on vacation. They’re there all the time. So, we’ve got to stand up for it. And if nobody is willing to stand up for it, generations of people behind us will suffer the consequence.”
Casey said the church has received numerous small donations from people all over America to pay the $300 fine.
“People are excited about someone standing up and protecting our rights,” Casey said. “It’s not just Baptists. It’s rabbis and priests. It’s bishops. It’s people from all over America calling me and saying, ‘Thank you for taking a stand. I stand behind you.’ ”
Casey said extensive cleaning measures and safety practices, including temperature checks and mandatory wearing of face masks and rubber gloves, have been put in place at the church.
You dont have a Constitutional Right to harm others even if you dont understand.
ReplyDeleteMaybe many are to young to remember people being charged with attempted murder because they were HIV positive and they spat at someone.Now its a $300 fine for not wearing a mask......
How long do you think it will be with the tracing, tracking going on that they'll (government) be able to tell exactly who gave you the contagion. Then come the lawyers!
So to answer Mr. Preacher Man, No you dont have a Constitutional Right to commune 56 people, infect them and send them off into the world with impunity! How is this different than a bomb, terrorist its a biological agent or weapon.