Church weighs in on potential move to Red Tier for Santa Barbara County

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Members of Saint Mary’s Church of the Assumption are grateful to come to service.

"We’ve been meeting every day from Monday through Friday at 11:30 a.m. to pray the rosary for the governor, the church and the world that it’ll be a safer place," says member Nancy Cole of Saint Mary's Church of the Assumption.

While it has been strongly discouraged by the state, churches throughout Santa Barbara County are allowed a 25 percent capacity indoors.

"My hope is for everybody to get their vaccine and maintain their masks so we’ll be able to do this," says member Joyce Cox of Saint Mary's Church of the Assumption.

On Friday, state health leaders said Santa Barbara County is likely to move from the purple tier to the red tier next week.

For churches, this means the state will no longer discourage indoor services, but the capacity limit remains the same.

"It makes all the difference being able to get together with my fellow parishioners and connect," says member Brian Del Gorgio of Saint Mary's Church of the Assumption.

"I’m happy we’re not going down. We’re going up. Even though we’re at 25 percent. It looks like we are going to be moving up the latter," says Deacon Dennis Pearson of Saint Mary's Church of the Assumption.

Members here at Saint Mary’s say they feel safe coming to church as the congregation continues to follow all health protocols.

"Our pastor has been really strict on the rules and the safety for himself and for us," says Cole.

Once the county moves to the red tier, churches will still have to follow the same health protocols.