Drive-in meetings, shopping for religious items reinstated

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This article was published 09/12/2020 (2109 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s move to relax restrictions around drive-in religious services removes one roadblock for a Steinbach-area church that wants to resume in-person worship services.

“I think that’s a step in the right direction,” Henry Hildebrandt of the Church of God Restoration said Tuesday in a brief telephone interview.

Members of the church have continued to gather for drive-up services for the last two Sundays, despite public health orders banning drive-in or drive-through religious services since Nov. 21.

On Tuesday, the provincial government revised COVID-19 public health orders to temporarily allow drive-in religious services, beginning Saturday.

Participants in these services must remain in their vehicles, and only members from one household can be in a vehicle.

Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer said he considered lifting the restrictions on drive-in services as soon as it was reasonable, but warned groups to comply or lose the privilege.

“We’re going to watch this very closely and if adherence isn’t very good… then we could change course on that,” Dr. Brent Roussin told reporters.

On Nov. 5, Winnipeg’s Springs Church had argued in a court hearing drive-in services would be safe if people remained in their cars. The church asked for a temporary stay in enforcement so drive-in services could continue until a hearing on whether the order violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Chief Justice Glenn Joyal of the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench denied the request, and the church cancelled its drive-in services, after accruing $32,000 in fines the previous weekend.

Springs Church did not post a comment on its website or Facebook page. When asked for a statement or update on a news release, Sherry Green, assistant to senior pastor Leon Fontaine said: “Sorry, I don’t have one,” before cutting off the telephone connection.

The public health orders updated Tuesday also allow the sale of seasonal decorations and religious items, such as Hanukkah candles and menorahs, which were previously considered non-essential.

With Hanukkah beginning at sundown Thursday, two days before the new rules come into force, that might be a problem for some Jewish families, said Rena Secter Elbaze of Congregation Shaarey Zedek.

She said synagogues and Jewish schools have limited supplies of candles to sell, so families still depend on local grocery stores to sell Hanukkah candles.

“You buy a new box and use the whole thing,” Elbaze said of the 44 candles needed for the eight-day festival of lights, which concludes Dec. 18.

“Every year, a new box is required.”

Elbaze suspected the previous restriction on purchasing Hanukkah candles was an oversight, not discrimination.

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