A pastor in Baltimore, Maryland, has ripped up a cease and desist letter in front of his congregation After being told to stop holding church services.
Last week, Governor Larry Hogan had announced that all churches should operate at 50 percent capacity in view of the coronavirus lockdown, but that didn’t stop Pastor Stacey Shiflett’s of the Calvary Baptist Church from holding a fully packed service last Wednesday.
The next day, Baltimore Council Executives decided against it on a local level, and put Pastor Shiflett in violation of Baltimore County Department of Health and Human Services’ rules.
Also, Baltimore Mayor Jack Young limited religious and spiritual gatherings to just 10 people.
Pastor Shiflett on Tuesday, via his social media account disclosed that the government had served him a $5,000 fine.
The on Wednesday, during a service with over 100 people in attendance, he ripped up the cease and desist letter that had been served to him by the government.
Shiflett has been vocal about his opposition to the social distancing lockdowns.
After communicating with local government he intended to open on May 24 if lockdowns hadn’t been lifted.
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He has promoted the usual service schedule which includes children’s Sunday School at 10am before the regular hours of 11am to 5pm. Service also includes a 7pm Wednesday session, and a Friday 7pm meeting for Reformers Unanimous Addictions Ministry.