A California Landlord Was Forced To Change The Locks On A Church Attempting To Proceed With Palm Sunday Service Amid Coronavirus Pandemic 

A Northern California landlord was forced to take matters into his own hands when Cross Culture Christian Center, located in Lodi, California, was still proceeding with services.

In an interview with Fox 40 in Sacramento last week, Jon Duncan, pastor of the church, said that despite the spread of COVID-19, it was okay to hold service because of his constitutional right to peaceful assembly.

“We’re going to meet as often as we can meet, and we do believe that this right is protected by the First Amendment and should be considered essential,” Duncan said.

Because of Duncan’s belief, he attempted to still have service for Palm Sunday.

However, things didn’t go as planned when Bethel Open Bible Church, the landlord for Cross Culture Christian Church, changed the locks on the building prior to the scheduled Sunday Service.

When members of the church began to show up for service on Sunday, the doors to the building were locked.

“I’m not thrilled in general with the restriction on religious liberties,” Jon’s brother Jeremy Duncan expressed to Fox 2 on Sunday. “Especially during what is Christian’s most holy week.”

While churches around the world have adapted to online worship due to the current state of the world, some pastors are still attempting to hold services, thus ending up arrested, the outlet reports.