Court Orders Florida Church to Suspend Religious Services

A Florida church is appealing a court order that prevents it from continuing to meet to worship God on its property. Pastor Roderick Palmer of the Coastal Family Church in Flagler Beach, Florida, filed an appeal with the Fifth District Court of Appeals, aided by Liberty Counsel, a non-profit legal organization. Palmer is seeking an immediate suspension and revocation of a temporary court order that bars the church from holding in-person religious services at its headquarters.

The dispute began last August when a lawsuit was filed against Coastal Family Church following an attempt by the property association Flagler Square – JAX, Inc. to enforce a restrictive agreement that prohibits “public gatherings” on its properties. The church argued that the pact is ambiguous, applied selectively, and is illegal under state and federal law. The association claimed that church services, held in a building within a shopping center, “saturate the parking available at all times.” Liberty Counsel noted that parking issues have never been reported, with over 160 spaces available during Sunday services.

A condominium declaration also restricts the commercial center from being used as discount shops, banquet halls, bingos, or other public gathering places. Yet, the space is currently used as a tent for assignments and as the headquarters of the Fraternal Order of the Police, which regularly hosts bingo nights and rents its facilities for public meetings. Liberty Counsel highlighted that the court issued an order preventing religious gatherings despite no evidence of parking problems and after the city formally approved a special zoning exception for the church.

The court’s decision forced the church to close its doors last Sunday. Liberty Counsel emphasized that no pastor, church, or parishioner in the United States should be compelled to choose between worship and contempt. The order, they argue, imposes an extraordinary burden by closing the church and preventing the pastor from allowing his congregation to access their place of worship during the pending legal action.

In the appeal, Liberty Counsel contends that the court order constitutes a “pre-restriction” on freedom of expression, assembly, and religious exercise, which they describe as “the most serious and least tolerable form of violation of First Amendment rights.” Courts have consistently ruled that the closure of a place of worship represents a loss of constitutional freedoms, even temporarily.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)