More than 12,000 people gathered at the California State Capitol in Sacramento on Sunday for a Christian music concert and worship service, according to an estimate by one of its organizers.
The “Let Us Worship” rally, a name under which other groups have gathered around California, featured musicians and speakers, including state Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Baskerfield), who serves as state Senate minority leader.
“We are gonna worship like we’ve never worshiped before, and I declare that after all of this is over tonight, the remnant, the residue of this worship will saturate this ground and seep into that building,” Grove said to cheers and applause as she pointed to the Capitol. “And when it goes into that building, it will touch every heart that enters. God bless you, let us worship!”
As The Sacramento Bee repeatedly pointed out in their coverage of the event, most of the attendees were not adhering to COVID-19 protocols regarding masks and social distancing. They also noted that Grove was supposed to have been quarantining after potentially being exposed to the coronavirus at a recent caucus lunch.
There have been more than 20,000 cases of the coronavirus in Sacramento County and 332 deaths, according to the county’s public health records.
Official Capitol Hill police estimate was 12,000 tonight in Sacramento!!! 😭😭😭😭
GOD IS NOT DONE WITH CALIFORNIA!!!#LetUsWorship pic.twitter.com/4sRGwbQbIl
— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) September 7, 2020
Sean Feucht, one of the organizers of the gathering, posted footage of the event Sunday, tweeting, “Official Capitol Hill police estimate was 12,000 tonight in Sacramento!!! [crying emojis] GOD IS NOT DONE WITH CALIFORNIA!!!”
As The Daily Wire reported, Feucht has also attended other events of a similar nature, in which groups of Christians gather weekly on southern California beaches as part of a movement called “Saturate OC.”
“Let Us Worship” next plans to tour to national hot spots such as Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to Feucht’s website.
State officials estimated 5000 on the beach in San Diego tonight. I am undone at the movement God is pouring out across America!!!
BUT THIS MOMENT RIGHT HERE my son Ezra was baptized tonight 😭😭😭#LetUsWorship pic.twitter.com/IT9CQL9A1T
— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) July 27, 2020
Appealing to the nation’s earliest history to lay out their reason for gathering together, “Let Us Worship” warned about what they see as the collusion of Big Tech with government to silence “Christian voices.” The statement reads:
The fervor to worship God free from government edict and societal persecution drove America’s earliest settlers across oceans and wild frontiers to this beautiful land to create a new nation built on a simple premise that all men are created equal and cannot be denied their inalienable rights to life and liberty.
But our freedom to worship God and obey His Word has come under unprecedented attack. Powerful politicians and social media giants have engaged in unchartered abuses of religious liberty, silencing the faithful, banning our voices, and outright attacking our God-given right to declare His goodness.
States across America, including here in California have shut down church services and even outlawed singing in church. Instagram and Twitter is censoring Christian voices every single day. And every hour that passes they grow bolder in their efforts to silence the faithful.
It’s time for the Church to rise up with one voice and tell our government leaders and the rulers of big tech that we refuse to be silenced!
Though the gathering had a permit, many congregations in California are reeling underneath lockdown orders that forbid in-person assembly. Some have chosen to defy them and meet anyway, despite heavy fines. As The Daily Wire reported, North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara County has accumulated almost $60,000 in fines after county agents slipped into their service and saw they were singing.
Related: ‘It Must Stop’: California Church Pleads For Relief After County Fines Approach $60,000