Mass. church plans to sue governor as doors remain closed

WESTFIELD, Mass. — A Westfield pastor plans to sue Gov. Charlie Baker as churches remain closed due to the state of emergency order issued amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Jim Montoro, pastor at Pioneer Valley Baptist Church, told Boston 25 News Wednesday he is working with attorneys and speaking with other pastors about filing a class action lawsuit against Baker, as they believe their constitutional rights to worship have been violated.

“This open-ended, ‘We’re just going to get to you when we get to you,’ does not comply with the constitutional rights that I feel are being violated,” Montoro said of the state’s plans to gradually reopen. “So [the lawsuit] will be filed very shortly.”

The emergency order, which requires businesses and organizations deemed non-essential to close their physical workplaces, is set to expire Monday, when the first stage of a four-phase reopening begins. Just what businesses and organizations will open their doors first has not been announced.

State officials met virtually with members of several faith communities Tuesday to discuss safely reopening their houses of worship, although no date was set.

Montoro was disappointed to learn about the meeting, which he believes did not include a voice for the evangelical community. “We want our voice heard,” he said. “We are a constituency that is very large, and at this point and up to this point, feel ignored.”

Montoro was among 260 pastors across the state who sent a letter to Baker last week urging him to consider them essential and allow them to reopen in the first phase.

“If liquor stores can be open, and Home Depot can be open at 40 percent, and you’re opening golf courses and florist shops,” Montoro said. “It's not just another business. This is people’s faith, this is people’s anchor, it's people’s hope… I just feel like we’re front-line helpers. We're just as important as doctors and nurses in their spiritual, mental and physical health.”

Montoro has a plan for reopening his church, whenever that may be, including limiting the number of people inside, enforcing physical distancing, providing masks and gloves and taking temperatures. For those uncomfortable returning, he said he will continue to provide online services and begin offering drive-in services by radio in the church parking lot.

In a news conference Friday, Baker told reporters the decision of when to reopen churches has been one of the most difficult. But looking at cities where large religious gatherings were not limited has provided a tragic lesson.

“There’s plenty of evidence from around the world that in places where people didn’t do that, religious gatherings became a really big hotbed and a hot spot of outbreak," Baker said.

Boston 25 News reached out to Baker’s office for comment about Montoro’s plan to sue.

A spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development said in a statement, “The Administration is thankful for the individuals, businesses and organizations that are playing their part to stay home, stop the spread and protect at risk populations, and the Administration is working to return to a new normal as safely and as soon as possible.”

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