Christians hold “Let Us Worship” rally in Portland

quote:

---

Thousands of Christians gathered outdoors in Portland on Saturday to sing spiritual music amid the state’s coronavirus social distancing measures—just hours before a riot was declared across town and a separate crowd lit fire to the city police union headquarters.

Worshippers met in Waterfront Park on Saturday evening for an event dubbed “Riots to Revival.” Controversial Christian musician Sean Feucht, who has hosted similar gatherings on California beaches amid COVID-19 restrictions, led the crowd in song and some were even baptized. Most people flouted social distancing and did not wear masks or facial coverings, KGW reported.

---

quote:

---

“White, Black, Hispanic – we came and released our song of hope over this city. People gave their life to Jesus. Hundreds of people -- We baptized people in the river behind us. There was so much joy that took over the streets of that city last night."

Feucht estimated between 4,000 and 7,000 people attended the massive outdoor church service that happened just blocks away from the federal courthouse and acted as a counter-protest to bring worship, prayer, and acts of kindness to Portland. Only 600 people responded to a Facebook event to say they would attend.

---

quote:

---

“Our tagline last night was ‘Riots to Revival,’ which we’re carrying with us into Seattle tonight. We just believe that the church has the ability to change the narrative. All of America has just seen these buildings burning, and they’ve seen this destruction and this violence, and the mainstream media seems to be infatuated with this. But what I’m telling you is that there’s another story of what God is doing in these cities and the church is rising up,” Feucht told Fox News’ Pete Hegseth.

---

quote:

---

About 5 miles away, a large crowd marched to the Portland Police Association office late Saturday, erected a fence, pushed dumpsters into the street to block traffic, set a dumpster on fire, vandalized the building with spray paint, and destroyed security cameras. The Portland Police Bureau declared a riot at 11:35 p.m. when people broke a window to gain access to the building and started a fire inside. Officers with the Oregon State Police and Portland Police Bureau warned all people, including press and lawful observers, to disperse or be subject to arrest, citation, or impact munitions. Police said a “hostile crowd” threw glass bottles and paint balloons and shined green lasers at officers. Three officers were injured, two of whom were transported to the hospital and released. Several people were arrested.

---