Lauren Witzke, a Republican candidate for Senate in the Delaware race against Democrat Chris Coons, is partnering with Glory City Fellowship Church in Delmar, Delaware, on Sunday in defiance of the state’s continued lockdown order, which deems churches non-essential businesses during the coronavirus outbreak.
Joy Hill, a native of Delaware, is pastor of the church.
“Pastor Hill has graciously decided to open her church to Christians in Delaware who have been denied their right to worship God freely due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Witzke told Breitbart News. “We are grateful that she has bravely stepped forward to stand up for God-fearing Delawareans and our campaign is excited to worship with her this Sunday.”
“America was told that the shutdowns were meant to ‘flatten the curve,’” Witzke said. “But now, radical left governors like [Delaware’s] John Carney and others around the country are using COVID-19 as a means of political control.”
“The Witzke campaign, unlike Senator Chris Coons, will not sit idly by while the government deprives Americans of their most basic rights, and we look forward to leading the charge in reopening places of worship and businesses in Delaware and across America,” Witzke told Breitbart News.
“I am opening my church because I see a downward spiral to our economy and communities,” Hill told Breitbart News. “As a pastor I have a responsibility to lead my congregation by example and in a way that I feel best serves them and their families.”
“Delaware has been closed since the middle of March and Pastors have abided by the mandates of our Governor,” Hill said. “Now it is nearing the end of May and there are no plans or directives to reopen our churches.”
“The First amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees us the right to worship without goverment interference,” Hill said. “As Governor Carney establishes new regulations and restrictions such as ‘Contact Tracers,’ I feel the citizens of Delaware must begin to push back and react in a manner that forces our government to remember we hired them.”
“Many individuals in our communities rely on churches and ministries for economic help, for counseling, and personal interaction that cannot be achieved via live stream services,” Hill said. “I am not willing to continue to be deprived of my rights or allow the double standards that we are experiencing to continue.”
“If you are a Delawarean who has been deprived of your God-given right to worship, join us this Sunday to exercise your First Amendment rights and show the government that you won’t be subject its tyrannical overreach,” Witzke wrote on the church’s Facebook page.
The service will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Sunday at the church, located at 36270 Old Stage Road, Delmar, Delaware.
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