The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Colorado church’s request for protection from future pandemic-related restrictions, should the country find itself in a situation à la the COVID-19 outbreak.
During the pandemic, many churches across the U.S. were forced by federal, state, and local governments to close their doors to worshippers. Many congregations, including at least five in California, were ultimately awarded six-figure settlements for the restrictions that unjustly hampered church worship services while stores, for example, were permitted to remain open.
Nevertheless, on Tuesday, the high court denied a petition of certiorari in the case of Grace Bible Fellowship et al. v. Jared Polis, governor of Colorado, et al. The justices’ refusal to hear the case leaves in place an earlier appeals court ruling favoring the Democrat governor.
The Brighton church — then known as Community Baptist Church before disassociating from the Southern Baptist Convention — was eventually granted a preliminary injunction in 2020, preventing the government from instituting some of the lockdown measures that were impacting churches in the area, according to its legal filing with the Supreme Court.
Grace Bible Fellowship later amended its legal complaint over the Colorado Disaster Emergency Act. The congregation, led by Pastor Joey Rhoads, argued the CDEA could be
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