NI Baptist Church opens despite coronavirus rules

Tandragee Baptist Church in Co Armagh opened for Sunday services in spite of the two-week circuit-breaker coronavirus restrictions prohibiting the opening of Churches for anything other than “private prayer, weddings, civil partnerships and funerals”.

The news was first reported by the Co Armagh-based newspaper the Ulster Gazette.

The Church posted a video online showing a sermon delivered on Sunday by Pastor David Patterson.

The News Letter spoke with the president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, pastor Trevor Ramsey about the Tandragee Church’s decision.

Mr Ramsey said he did not “condemn or condone” the decision taken by Tandragee Baptist Church and stressed that, within the organisation he represents Churches have the ability to act independently.

“Independent Churches have the responsibility to adhere to the law, but they also have the right to make up their own mind,” he said.

He continued: “I’m a pastor here at Newtonbreda Church but I also serve as the president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland. Baptist Churches are not a denomination — we are an association of Churches. The way we function is that every Church is independent and autonomous. They are at liberty on whether to make their own decisions.

“The vast majority of our Churches closed our buildings for public worship as we were told to do. Tandragee has obviously decided to ignore that and to meet.”

He added: “They are entitled to make their own decisions, Our advice is to adhere to the law, to support the government and to support the restrictions.”

Asked whether he would condemn or support the actions of Tandragee Baptist Church, he said: “I wouldn’t make any comment on that. All I would say is that I know that local pastors and local Churches in many denominations are trying their best to work with the government but may be struggling a little bit — it’s hard for Churches to close down for public worship when they see off-licenses open, for example.

“At the same time, we understand the challenges facing the government, so I’m not going to either condone or condemn the actions at Tandragee.”

The restrictions placed on Churches has been a source of controversy.

Last month, the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland Archbishop of Armagh Eamonn Martin insisted he was not aware of evidence that Churches are a “source of contagion” and stressed the “mammoth effort” that had gone into making Churches as safe as possible.

And just last week, an evangelical pastor in Belfast vowed to keep his church doors open despite the coronavirus lockdown.

Last week, Pastor Paul Burns of the Adullam Christian Fellowship in Sandy Row said he will continue to “serve the Lord,” as his first duty is not to the state.

Speaking to the Premier Christian News website, he said: “The church is separate to the state. We are a separate entity, therefore, the government has to respect that.

“We will work with the government, we will work with communities, we will work with government associations. But there comes a time where the church has to say, ‘as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’”

Last month, the Banbridge Baptist Church was forced to halt services after an outbreak was linked to the church.

And Free Presbyterian Churches in Hillsborough and Moneyslane also temporarily closed due to confirmed Covid cases, while Hebron Free Presbyterian in Ballymoney was linked to “multiple cases”.

The News Letter has attempted to contact Pastor David Patterson for comment but as yet, been unable to reach him.