SEATTLE — Hundreds of people packed into Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park on Sunday afternoon for a “Let Us Worship” rally led by Sean Feucht, where the crowd sang and people were baptized, with few wearing mandated face coverings.
“To just bring a blessing over this city that has gone through a lot of pain,” said Charles Karaku, who attended the rally with his family from Minneapolis and discussed criticism surrounding violating COVID-19 restrictions. “We understand that they hold a different opinion, and it’s not anything to be angry about.”
Those in the crowd said the “Let Us Worship” rally started in California in opposition to the state’s COVID-19 worship restrictions and has recently made stops in cities like Portland.
“When I was out at the protests for Black Lives Matter, I didn’t get much backlash from not wearing a mask. But now that I’ve been out at worship events, I do get more backlash on not wearing a mask,” said Morgan Daughtridge, who’s from Washington, D.C., and has attended several of Feucht’s rallies in different states.
Sunday’s crowd at Cal Anderson Park in Capitol Hill, where protests against police brutality have continued in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, caught the attention of people who were upset by the lack of face coverings and social distancing.
“It’s very disheartening and frustrating to have people come into our community and potentially be spreading disease,” said one person who did not give their name. “Ultimately, a large gathering of people is a large gathering of people, right, and the same rules apply there or here; in the protests, our medics were always handing out masks and hand sanitizer.”
“Government leaders voiced support for outdoor protests in recent months, they should not be condemning Christians seeking to gather in worship,” said Feucht in a statement posted to Facebook last month. “Masks were made available, social distancing was encouraged, and the gathering was held outside as an extra precaution. The freedom to worship God is the constitutional right of every American citizen and those who exercise this right should not be unfairly targeted for criticism.”