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SAN JOSE — The 400-member church congregation hadn’t gathered face-to-face in five months.

Conceding to California restrictions that closed churches early in the COVID19-pandemic and later severely limited attendance indoors, churchgoers have been gathering on Zoom and FaceTime because, as they said, “God is everywhere.”

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – JULY 26: Pastor Joe Woolwine with Victory Outreach Church of San Jose speaks during a demonstration about the right to worship organized by Victory Outreach Church at San Jose City Hall in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, July 26, 2020. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) 

But when Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed another ban on religious services — no singing allowed indoors — Victory Outreach San Jose had had enough.

“To say you can’t sing, that’s the time-out,” said Victory Outreach Pastor Joe Woolwine. “For us, it’s not singing, it’s worship.”

On Sunday, in an act of both protest and togetherness, several hundred members of Victory Outreach and other Christian congregations gathered at San Jose City Hall plaza and — with the house jazz band playing on the steps — sang out.

Wearing masks and spreading out six feet apart, a lively group swayed, clapped and sang “in the name of Jesus, enemy defeated, we will shout it out.”

In late May, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a claim by a church in Chula Vista that the restrictions on religious gatherings were unconstitutional. On July 16, churches in Fort Bragg, Ukiah and Oroville filed a federal lawsuit claiming their First Amendment rights were also violated and made the case that while Gov. Gavin Newsom has protected protesters’ freedom of speech, he hadn’t given the same protection to church members.

In the midst of Sunday’s singing service at City Hall — replete with a 10-member choir and thundering testimonials — Vince Strangis made a similar argument.

“When you see everyone else going to the grocery store and everything else being essential but to worship, it’s disheartening,” Strangis said.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – JULY 26: A band from Victory Outreach Church of San Jose plays during a demonstration about the right to worship organized by Victory Outreach Church of San Jose at San Jose City Hall in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, July 26, 2020. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) 

To church volunteer Mitzi Magos, a ban on singing is deeply emotional.

“It’s our personal and spiritual declaration,” Mangos said, “and it’s the way we express our love for God.”

At the start of Sunday’s outdoor service, Pastor Woolwine instructed everyone to wear their masks and spread out because “I don’t want anyone to get sick.”

For this multicultural congregation that reaches out to people struggling with addiction and crime, he said the loss of togetherness has been especially painful.

“To not have a service, what happens to them?” he asked. “We’re at the point where the risk of doing nothing is greater” than the risk of coronavirus.

A number of church services across the country have sparked outbreaks over the past several months, often due to the projection of voices and the spewing of virus that can go with it. On Sunday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a Catholic church held a secret wedding ceremony in June for 100 people, also leading to an outbreak.

But on Sunday in the San Jose plaza, the crowd reveled in their reunion. “You can feel the energy in the air,” Woolwine said.

Strangis, who has been a member of the Victory Outreach church for 33 years, says watching services on FaceTime for months has “been trying.”

“We know He’s in our midst when we’re online,” Strangis said, “but it’s not like here.”