175 complaints lodged against Pierce County church over lack of COVID safety measures
An East Pierce County church has been the subject of 175 complaints regarding lack of COVID-19 safety protocols, and the Washington state Department of Labor & Industries is reviewing.
The state Department of Health and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department both have fielded complaints about Motion Church, a Christian church with campuses in Puyallup, South Hill and Bonney Lake.
The state Department of Health has forwarded complaints it has received to Labor & Industries for review.
“If we do get involved, we have to decide what our steps will be. Remember, L&I’s primary role in workplace safety is regarding worker’s safety and health,” L&I director of communications Tim Church told The Puyallup Herald recently. “It’s like: Are people wearing masks and what is the exposure to the employees?”
Motion Church did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
In response to a Feb. 6 Facebook comment asking about face masks, the church commented on a weekend service video saying, “We do not require masks, but those who would feel more welcome can certainly wear them or utilize our online campus if that would make them feel most safe.”
The state has COVID-19 requirements for religious and faith-based organizations in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Roadmap to Recovery” plan. Those requirements include:
Holding indoor services at a place of worship with up to 25 percent capacity or 200 individuals, whichever is less.
No choirs can perform during the service. Singing is permitted, but individuals must not remove their face coverings to sing.
Face coverings must stay on for the duration of the service.
All organizations must follow six-foot distancing between congregation seats, pews and benches or have physical barriers between them.
The organization must place markings on the floors and seats indicating a six-feet radius to help guide members and visitors.
A facial covering must be worn by every individual not alone at the location unless their exposure dictates a higher level of protection under Department of Labor & Industries safety and health rules and guidance.
Motion Church posts on Instagram and Facebook show attendees, singers and speakers not wearing masks. Many photos of the congregation show people appearing to not follow six-foot social distancing requirements. At a Feb. 5 “Marriage Conference,” dozens of people were photographed in close proximity without face coverings, according to the church’s Facebook post.
State Department of Health communications consultant Ginny Streeter said complaints to her agency have been “for a variety of issues, but mainly large gatherings and the wearing of masks.
“This is an above average number of complaints for a church.”
Due to the high number of complaints, the state Department of Health referred the complaints to Labor & Industries, Streeter said.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has received one complaint about the church, spokesperson Karen Irwin said. On Oct. 27, the department was notified that Motion Church planned a dance and meal for students on Oct. 30.
Staff told the church the dance did not fall under state guidelines for religious and faith-based organizations, which included “worship services, religious study classes, religious ceremonies and religious holiday celebrations.”
“We told them that a dance does not fall within these categories. We also pointed to the guidance that states: ‘Cloth face coverings are required for all participants,’” Irwin said in an email to The Puyallup Herald.
The local health department also told the church a temporary food establishment permit would be required to serve dinner.
“Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is not issuing these permits until phase 4,” Irwin said. “We informed the church that any meal provided would need to be a boxed lunch/dinner or individual meals to-go from a restaurant.”
It is unclear whether the event was held.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 5:05 AM.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated how many complaints there were against Motion Church. The Department of Health emailed The News Tribune on April 9, clarifying it mistakenly duplicated a handful of complaints. There were 175 complaints.
