Coronavirus: Police halt lockdown-breaking baptism in London

Church leader decides to breach coronavirus rules because ‘we serve a greater good’

Police leave the Angel Church in north London. Pastor Regan King said he disagreed with the enforcement of restrictions on religious gatherings (EPA)

A baptism service attended by some 30 people in north London was stopped by police for breaching coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Metropolitan Police officers halted the indoor service at The Angel Church in Clerkenwell and after a discussion, the church’s pastor agreed to hold “a brief socially-distanced outdoor gathering in the church courtyard”.

Lead pastor Regan King, 28, said he wanted to go ahead with the baptism although it breached virus control rules because he “served a greater good”.

Two police vans and a police car were parked outside the church’s Mount Zion Hall building on Sunday, and four officers prevented people from entering.

Under current rules, places of worship are allowed to remain open for individual prayer and live-streaming of worship, but communal services are banned. Small funerals are permitted, as well as social action projects, such as food banks.

Mr King said: “We were told not to have a baptism and police began to block people from entering the church, so we decided to make other arrangements.”

When asked why he decided to break the rules, he said: “Because I believe we serve a greater good. We have a greater good than whatever this is.”

He said the police presence was not something he wanted, adding: “This is an essential service that we provide. It’s about loving our neighbour, and you can talk with a number of people here who are extremely vulnerable, homeless or on the verge of being very isolated.”

Police allowed 15 people to remain inside the church, while another 15 participated in the socially-distanced outdoor service.

A Met spokesperson said officers went to speak to the pastor following reports he intended to hold a baptism and an in-person service.

They said: "Officers explained that due to Covid-19, restrictions are in place preventing gatherings and that financial penalties can be applied if they are breached.

"The pastor agreed not to proceed with the baptism or the in-person indoor service.

"A brief socially-distanced outdoor gathering was held instead which was agreed to by officers as a sensible compromise in the circumstances.

"A support group for vulnerable adults was permitted to proceed as normal as it was in line with the relevant legislation."

Mr King, who is one of more than 100 Christian leaders who have launched a legal challenge against the ban on communal worship, told BBC Radio 4 that he believed the ban was unlawful and the church would “combat any challenge against us”.

He said: “Our priority is our fear of God. We serve a greater law. Just because something is the law does not make it right.”

Church leaders claim worship has been “criminalised” due to the restrictions – introduced to curb the community spread of a virus that has killed tens of thousands – and that the ban has “inflicted a terrible human cost” on religious congregations.

Leaders of the Church of England, the Catholic church and Orthodox Judaism, as well as Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Pentecostal representatives, also challenged the government’s ban on public worship.

In a joint letter to Boris Johnson earlier this month, they said there was “no scientific justification for the wholesale suspension of public worship”.

Additional reporting by Press Association