Thu Oct 21, 2021 – 10:06 pm EDT
JACKSON COUNTY, Missouri (LifeSiteNews) – A Missouri county agreed to pay almost $150,000 to a local church that sued officials last year over “discriminatory” COVID-19 restrictions.
Jackson County, which includes Kansas City, approved a settlement with Abundant Life Baptist Church (ALBC) on Monday after the Baptist megachurch filed a federal lawsuit alleging that health orders issued by the county “impermissibly discriminate[d] against religiously-motivated gatherings.”
The majority-Democrat Jackson County legislature approved the $146,750 settlement in a 6-2 vote, the Kansas City Star reported. The legislature additionally agreed that future restrictions would not disproportionately impact churches.
Last May, Jackson County limited in-person church services to 10 people amid COVID-19, defining indoor worship as “large gatherings or social events.” Retail stores, restaurants, and other “non-essential” businesses, however, were permitted to open with social distance measures at 10% or 25% capacity, depending on size.
ALBC’s largest facility can hold up to 4,740 people, according to the group’s lawsuit, filed May 7 in the U.S. District Court for Western District of Missouri.
“Because Defendants have classified Plaintiff’s ‘church’ activities as ‘non-essential’ and/or ‘large gatherings or social events,’ Plaintiff will only be able to
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