That was my church for 18 months before I left SJ, CA. The story is true. I joined Calvary Chapel Hillsdale (San Jose) in Jan 2021. My previous church, Saratoga Federated refused to open to in person service. I emailed the new paster Sean several times asking when he would reopen. He said it was still too unsafe. Sean also refused to join many out of county pastors at the San Jose courthouse during the many appearances in front of the judge by Pastor Mike. Anyway, Calvary attendance grew as more people like me found a hot church after leaving a cold church. Jan 2021 attendance was ~ 250 per service (two services each Sunday). July 2021 was ~ double that attendance and then double again by end of 2021. Nobody I knew or heard about got sick from all the hugging and singing and ages in the church. I would sit in different parts of the church each week to meet different groups. Everyone was happy and healthy and normal. I did know one person who died from the forced COVID shot. He had just been hired for a new and better job that required the jab. He was the only child of a single mother and was 27 when he died. This forced jab to keep your job was rampant in Santa Clara County under Sara Cody and the abusive county and state gov't. Sara Cody makes $435K per year. She is the County Health Officer at $250K and does something else paying $120K with benefits adding to ~$435K. The problem in Santa Clara CA is that nobody seems to care to challenge this BS...except Calvary Chapel and its members. I keep in touch, but we moved to a free state in 2022. Thanks for what you do Alex!
Yes, it’s awful and infuriating! The worst part is sooo many churches went along with it all. It’s like they never read the Bible! I went back to this odd little detail from the book of Daniel that I think in retrospect explains a great deal about the early Covid response and the famous 15 days to slow the spread. Did y’all know the famous lions’ den story involves a similar law, about “only 30 days” of giving up your rights? More here:
You should know that Santa Clara is also ground zero for Covid lockdowns, promoted by Sara Cody, the county health official that convinced Gavin Newsom to go all in. Sara Cody is a name that should live in infamy right up there with Anthony Fauci.
I couldn't finish reading the article. My imagination was starting to go to a dark, violent place that wasn't really a good place to go. I spent most of my time in FL during the "pandemic" except for several months in CT... which was pretty freaking crazy compared to FL. I can't imagine what I would have done if I was in CA or Santa Clara County. I moved out of CA many years ago and I am super glad I wasn't there.
We were very proud of Mike for not giving in . The churches that did not give in to closure are in fact the chruches that have grown exponentially. They are also the churches that have not capitulated to the woke agenda. Thanks for highlighting this article Alex.
Mistakes Were Not Made. This was no mistake. This was pocket fascists seizing an opportunity. They tipped their hand. If we refuse to look at their cards, that's on us.
I attended this church during Covid. Pastor Mike and his wife are fearless. The best part of my week was attending the Tuesday mom's group, Manna for Moms, that was quoted in the article. It was the only place I could go each week maskless, speak with like-minded women, sing, and feel normal. Living in Silicon Valley for me during Covid lockdowns was so hard. I felt like the only one in my whole neighborhood who was questioning things. To read this article and realize that we had spies staking out to watch a bunch of moms drinking coffee is just creepy. Unreal. So glad I moved from this area, but it wasn't easy. Husband (an exec at a tech co) lost his job for not getting the jab, my kids had to move to a different high school since they were not jabbed. I was born and raised in the Bay Area and can safely say it has "jumped the shark." As Pastor Mike would say, it is the belly of the beast - the home of F.A.N.G. companies (Facebook/Apple/Netflix/Google). I am forever grateful to this church for being a shining light in a very dark place.
Alex, you warned us that this would enrage us. I certainly was, but it also reminded me that these authoritarian-leftist (redundant) will not take this to heart knowing what we know now on Covid. Rather, they and the other counties will view their efforts as exemplary, and make the other counties feel like pikers. No, the left never takes their glaring overreaches on power over the people as a cautionary tale. For them, this was a shining example of how to push their agenda when the next opportunity to seize power comes along. They seem to be finding them daily now and in about everything they touch...
THIS shows precisely what power-crazed bureaucrats can inflict on a population. There's more to fear from low-level, local officials--especially those who are appointed or hired--than from elected officials.
And this power-drunk mentality follows all the way up the food chain to the CDC, NIH, NIAID...and we all know THAT cast of characters.
Alex:
That was my church for 18 months before I left SJ, CA. The story is true. I joined Calvary Chapel Hillsdale (San Jose) in Jan 2021. My previous church, Saratoga Federated refused to open to in person service. I emailed the new paster Sean several times asking when he would reopen. He said it was still too unsafe. Sean also refused to join many out of county pastors at the San Jose courthouse during the many appearances in front of the judge by Pastor Mike. Anyway, Calvary attendance grew as more people like me found a hot church after leaving a cold church. Jan 2021 attendance was ~ 250 per service (two services each Sunday). July 2021 was ~ double that attendance and then double again by end of 2021. Nobody I knew or heard about got sick from all the hugging and singing and ages in the church. I would sit in different parts of the church each week to meet different groups. Everyone was happy and healthy and normal. I did know one person who died from the forced COVID shot. He had just been hired for a new and better job that required the jab. He was the only child of a single mother and was 27 when he died. This forced jab to keep your job was rampant in Santa Clara County under Sara Cody and the abusive county and state gov't. Sara Cody makes $435K per year. She is the County Health Officer at $250K and does something else paying $120K with benefits adding to ~$435K. The problem in Santa Clara CA is that nobody seems to care to challenge this BS...except Calvary Chapel and its members. I keep in touch, but we moved to a free state in 2022. Thanks for what you do Alex!
These people are a perfect example of why the 2nd Amendment was enshrined into the Bill of
Rights of the US Constitution. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have.
Yes, it’s awful and infuriating! The worst part is sooo many churches went along with it all. It’s like they never read the Bible! I went back to this odd little detail from the book of Daniel that I think in retrospect explains a great deal about the early Covid response and the famous 15 days to slow the spread. Did y’all know the famous lions’ den story involves a similar law, about “only 30 days” of giving up your rights? More here:
https://gaty.substack.com/p/thirty-days-to-slow-the-faith
there will be a special place in the fiery lake for Francis Collins and co, I suspect…
You should know that Santa Clara is also ground zero for Covid lockdowns, promoted by Sara Cody, the county health official that convinced Gavin Newsom to go all in. Sara Cody is a name that should live in infamy right up there with Anthony Fauci.
I couldn't finish reading the article. My imagination was starting to go to a dark, violent place that wasn't really a good place to go. I spent most of my time in FL during the "pandemic" except for several months in CT... which was pretty freaking crazy compared to FL. I can't imagine what I would have done if I was in CA or Santa Clara County. I moved out of CA many years ago and I am super glad I wasn't there.
We were very proud of Mike for not giving in . The churches that did not give in to closure are in fact the chruches that have grown exponentially. They are also the churches that have not capitulated to the woke agenda. Thanks for highlighting this article Alex.
Mistakes Were Not Made. This was no mistake. This was pocket fascists seizing an opportunity. They tipped their hand. If we refuse to look at their cards, that's on us.
I heard Zweig talk about this on Trish Wood's podcast and I just said 'oh my god they did WHAT?' over and over to myself in the kitchen.
The stakeouts from the church next door, that's Hollywood movie stuff.
I attended this church during Covid. Pastor Mike and his wife are fearless. The best part of my week was attending the Tuesday mom's group, Manna for Moms, that was quoted in the article. It was the only place I could go each week maskless, speak with like-minded women, sing, and feel normal. Living in Silicon Valley for me during Covid lockdowns was so hard. I felt like the only one in my whole neighborhood who was questioning things. To read this article and realize that we had spies staking out to watch a bunch of moms drinking coffee is just creepy. Unreal. So glad I moved from this area, but it wasn't easy. Husband (an exec at a tech co) lost his job for not getting the jab, my kids had to move to a different high school since they were not jabbed. I was born and raised in the Bay Area and can safely say it has "jumped the shark." As Pastor Mike would say, it is the belly of the beast - the home of F.A.N.G. companies (Facebook/Apple/Netflix/Google). I am forever grateful to this church for being a shining light in a very dark place.
Alex, you warned us that this would enrage us. I certainly was, but it also reminded me that these authoritarian-leftist (redundant) will not take this to heart knowing what we know now on Covid. Rather, they and the other counties will view their efforts as exemplary, and make the other counties feel like pikers. No, the left never takes their glaring overreaches on power over the people as a cautionary tale. For them, this was a shining example of how to push their agenda when the next opportunity to seize power comes along. They seem to be finding them daily now and in about everything they touch...
Look what Zelensky is doing with religious freedoms in the Ukraine
THIS shows precisely what power-crazed bureaucrats can inflict on a population. There's more to fear from low-level, local officials--especially those who are appointed or hired--than from elected officials.
And this power-drunk mentality follows all the way up the food chain to the CDC, NIH, NIAID...and we all know THAT cast of characters.
We must crush these faithful Christians commanded the Health Department. Now where have we ever seen this before? Hmm. . .
History will not look at this period of the history of the United States favorably.
Bari Weiss published a similar piece in the Free Press recently.
https://open.substack.com/pub/bariweiss/p/a-church-the-state-and-a-holy-war
I believe communist Stasi were more tolerant with people of faith than Santa Clara County, but they would have loved these Big Brother tactics