Though some La Jolla churches are embracing the opportunity to resume indoor services after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week cleared the way for them to do so, several are opting not to right away.
Late Feb. 5, the high court lifted California’s ban on indoor worship during the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s strict orders appeared to violate the Constitution’s protection of the free exercise of religion. The court left in place restrictions on indoor singing and chanting and allowed the state to limit attendance to 25 percent of a church’s building capacity in areas, such as San Diego County, considered to have widespread coronavirus risk. Newsom’s office the next day issued revised guidelines for indoor church services.
On this last Christmas before he retires, his 48th year of presiding over alleluias and not-so-silent nights, the Rev. Raymond O’Donnell Father Jerry to his flock will stand before parishioners and visitors to deliver his homily for this sacred Christian holiday.
He will begin by talking about his dog.
O’Donnell will share with folks that he has no idea why his dog, a 9-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Monsignor, has to smell every bush and every tree. He couldn’t know unless he became a dog himself.
Then he will transition from dog to God and the crux of Christmas.