On Twitter, people are amazed at the action of the church. “Are we off the path? A church service for 600 people in Staphorst without masks”, someone writes. “In Staphorst there are churchgoers who don’t care about the health of their fellow villagers. That doesn’t seem biblical to me,” writes another.
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Don’t break rules
Yet the Restored Reformed Church in Staphorst does nothing wrong on paper. According to the government guidelines you can go to church, mosque or another place of worship, provided you have a fixed seat. A maximum of 100 people may be present in a room and singing is not prohibited. If a health check takes place in advance and places are reserved, according to the RIVM there is no maximum number of people per service.
The latter is what the church in Staphorst relies on. They have a health check, reserved seats and others measures. This means they do not have to adhere to the maximum of 100 people. “What the church does falls within the emergency ordinance,” said a spokesperson for the IJsselland Safety Region. “In principle it is allowed, so it is not up to us, but up to the municipality whether or not to enforce it”
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Still, it feels bitter, de local fraction of the CDA. “We believe that this is not possible, regardless of whether they take measures. It is a large building, they have arranged everything, but that is not the point. You have a moral duty as a church council to follow what the government asks for,” says group chairman Spiker. “This is not what Rutte meant.”
‘Church sets an example’
The party did not assume that the service would continue. “We had a similar situation in March. We also spoke with the church. We expected them to take their responsibility now and that it was clear, but apparently not.” He thinks it is unfair to other churches. “There are a lot of other churches here that are doing their best. They organize things digitally, for example. They also have difficulty with this state of affairs.”
In addition, according to him, it cannot be explained to other residents of the municipality. “Parents are not allowed to stand on the line at football and then this will happen. Those hundreds of people from the church will also go to work, the bakery or school on Monday. You have to protect the community and the church has an exemplary role in this.” He hopes that fewer people will come than expected.
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