Two NJ churches defy shutdown — it’s about time

I was a huge supporter of the COVID-19 shut down and the way it was handled in the beginning because we needed to take time to completely stop, pause, and take time to really look at some of the facts and figures surrounding this disease and it’s subsequent affects. But once we found there were more questions than answers, that’s when it became complicated. That’s what we needed to tell people that they had to make some personal choices. According to News 12, that's just what two Camden County churches are doing.

Pastor Charles Clark Jr. says that services at Solid Rock Baptist Church in Berlin will resume this weekend, despite orders and Bible Baptist Church in Clementon is doing the same. In the article, Clark is quoted as saying, “If they come in and drag out us, let them drag us out.”

I hope that more churches, synagogues and mosques will jump on this bandwagon because it is absolutely their right to do so under our constitution. I actually understood why the government advised religious services to be suspended and I commended those who chose to in the beginning. But when it became obvious that the shut down was becoming indefinite, churches and all houses of worship needed to make the choice themselves. And now thankfully, they are.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi's own.