Parishioners gathered inside the LifeAustin amphitheater on Sunday to publicly worship for the first time in six weeks after Texas Gov. Gr...
Parishioners gathered inside the LifeAustin amphitheater on Sunday to publicly worship for the first time in six weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbot loosened rules about social distancing and stay-at-home orders amid the pandemic.
Abbot announced last week that church congregations could once again come together after he deemed them 'essential' last Monday, and members of the Life Family church quickly took up his offer.
Dozens of residents flocked to the LifeAustin amphitheater where they attempted public health guidelines by wearing face masks throughout the service.
Photos from Sunday show people crowded into the 1,500 seat amphitheater, with some church goers appearing to be closer than the recommended six feet apart.
Dozens of church goers publicly attended a service at the LifeAustin amphitheater for the first time in six weeks as Texas phased out another stay-at-home guideline implemented during the coronavirus pandemic
Pictured: a sign outside of the LifeAustin amphitheater urged people to practice social distancing and read: 'We all love to shake hands and hug, but for now just wave and say hello to others from a distance'
Several parishioners who attended wore face masks to protect from coronavirus, but very few were pictured wearing gloves and some appeared to flout social distancing guidelines
Although Gov. Abbott deemed churches 'essential' early into stay-at-home orders, many congregations have been hesitant to meet again as cases in Texas grow to around 30,500
A sign places out front urged people to remember social distancing rules. It read: 'We all love to shake hands and hug, but for now just wave and say hello to others from a distance.'
Several other Texas churches kept their doors closed this Sunday, but Pastor Randy Phillips of LifeAustin chapel made the difficult decision that it was time to return.
Phillips told CBS Austin: 'It was anguishing. If we did the wrong thing, if we make a mistake, how tragic it could be for the community -- and so it was with a lot of trepidation, a lot of counsel, a lot of prayer that we made this decision.'
Texas has recorded more than 30,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 14,800 deaths.
Pastor Randy Phillips (pictured): 'f we did the wrong thing, if we make a mistake, how tragic it could be for the community -- and so it was with a lot of trepidation, a lot of counsel, a lot of prayer that we made this decision'
Pictured: a Texas family sits outside the LifeAustin amphitheater on Sunday as dozens of others residents attended the Sunday Service permitted under Gov. Abbott's guidelines
Westerfield: 'The church exists whether people come to a building or not. Apostle Paul said it this way. All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial
Phillips added that people were anticipating the Sunday service, saying: 'We may have to add a service. People are really excited to be out in a worship experience.'
On the other hand, Senior Pastor Mark Westerfield of Central Baptist Church in Round Rock said he didn't reopen the church's doors because he doesn't want to be a 'guinea pig.'
'The freedom is there, however so to speak, we don't want to be the guinea pig here,' said Westerfield.
'We want to make sure that our community feels safe about what we're doing.'
He added that when his church does formally reopen, Central Baptist Church will ask parishioners to wear face masks and follow Texas' public health guidelines.
'The church exists whether people come to a building or not. Apostle Paul said it this way. All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial,' he said.
Pictured: Two members of LifeAustin don face masks and hold hands during Sunday's service in Texas
Despite criticism from public health experts, Gov. Greg Abbott moved to reopen Texas and became the first state to begin peeling back stay-at-home orders for residents.
Of his decision, Abbott said: 'Understand this: opening in Texas must occur in stages. Obviously, not all businesses can open all at once on May the first.
'Some businesses, if fully open, without better distancing standards, would be more likely to set us back, rather than to propel us forward.
'A more strategic approach is required to ensure that we don't reopen only to have to shut down once again,' he said.
Although Abbott revealed Texas would start phasing out coronavirus guidelines, hundreds of anti-lockdown protestors still rallied in late April at the Texas Capitol Building.
In Texas, one of the most populous US states, all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls can resume activity from today while limiting capacity to 25 percent of their usual occupancy.
But the lift in restrictions came as Texas had a record spike in coronavirus-related deaths.
Deaths jumped by 146 in just three days, bringing the state's total to 812. The state recorded its highest daily death toll - 53 - on Thursday.
It comes as a rural area in Texas that previously had no deaths and eight infections out of its 50,000 population saw a spike in cases this week following an outbreak at a nursing home.
Lamar County, in the state's east, became an overnight hotspot following the outbreak that has so far resulted in one death and 62 infections.
The whiplash from healthy outlier to overnight hotspot has shed light on the balancing act states are taking on as they begin relaxing restrictions amid the pandemic.
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