Gov. Jay Inslee is letting places of worship reopen, but they must abide by restrictions. | Facebook
Gov. Jay Inslee is letting places of worship reopen, but they must abide by restrictions. | Facebook
A handful of Whatcom County's churches began to provisionally reopen for services on May 31, the Bellingham Herald reported.
The churches were allowed to reopen following Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement on May 27. The governor imposed new COVID-19 safety guidelines as well, the news agency reported.
Among the reopenings in Whatcom County are Bellingham Baptist Church, Grace Church Bellingham, Christ Church Bellingham and Bellingham United Reformed Church.
Bellingham Baptist reopened its church with restrictions on May 24.The church has been holding Sunday services and has also started holding service on Wednesday nights.
Grace Church Bellingham, Christ Church Bellingham and Bellingham United Reformed Church hosted their first service in months, the Bellingham Herald reported. The three churches held their services in parking lots with worshipers in their cars.
Inslee said during a press conference on May 27 that the state recognizes the importance of worship.
“We know that in many Washingtonians, their way is the way of the spirit,” Inslee said during the press conference. “We know that people treasure religious gatherings, so this has been a difficult issue about how we simultaneously defeat this virus and maintain our congregations. As I’ve said before, this crisis may affect our physical connections, but we should not allow it to stop our emotional connections.”
Alerts Sign-up