State and Teller County health officials drop lawsuit against Andrew Wommack Ministries
WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) — State and Teller County public health departments dismissed a lawsuit against Andrew Wommack Ministries, Inc. over COVID-19 safety restrictions at large religious gatherings in Woodland Park.
The Teller County and Colorado Departments of Public Health and Environment were suing AWMI to comply with capacity limits, social distancing guidelines, and the state’s indoor mask mandate. Following a change in the state’s COVID-19 guidelines for places of worship, 4th Judicial District Court Judge David Prince signed off on the dismissal of the lawsuit Friday.
“The governor finally realized that his actions were unconstitutional and rescinded those restrictions on our fundamental liberties,” said Richard Harris, General Counsel for Andrew Wommack Ministries. “It’s unfortunate that it took litigation and a lawsuit.”
A Supreme Court ruling against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s limits on in-person religious gatherings inspired Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to amend Colorado's public health order on Dec. 7.
The new public health order removes capacity limits for weddings and funerals, which are now considered critical services. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health, people who are officiating or participating in a religious service do not have to wear a mask if the mask would interfere with the service.
Though the changes give more flexibility to churches, the state still recommends reduced indoor capacity, social distancing, and masks if possible. KRDO asked Harris if AWMI will comply with the recommendations.
“The public health orders do not mandate caps on attendance,” Harris said. “And the mask rule is participants and officiants in worship services are not subject to that. We’ll be following the public health order and cooperating the best we can.”
Prior to the amendment, state and county officials reported the ministry violated state orders five times by hosting hundreds of people at indoor events since July. COVID-19 outbreaks in Teller County have been linked back to those events.
Teller County Administrator Sheryl Decker said she is worried the outbreaks could continue. However, Decker is hopeful the dismissal of the lawsuit is a step toward teamwork and public safety.
“Hopefully through all this, we’ve developed a relationship where we’ll be able to work together and follow the public health orders,” Decker said. “We’re all in compliance and we work together. That would be my Christmas wish.”
Decker said Teller County’s goal was never to shut down AWMI’s large gatherings, but rather to get them to comply with the public health orders.
AWMI’s next public event is the Men’s Advance conference, scheduled for March.
