. >> that including mike mcclure, one of the lead pastors at cavalry chapel. the church has been in a battle for five months for holding indoor services with an average attendance of about 700 people in defiance of public orders. >> cavalry chapel, you know, they're in their right to exercise their first amendment right and gather and pray and celebrate christmas. >> reporter: earlier this week a federal court judge upheld governor new someso m's orders. the judge said the state has a compelling interest in curbing the spread in the most deadly n infectious disease. the constitution is not a suicide pact. >> what i would say to the leaders of that church but across the country is that when people follow you, an obligation to do what's best for them. >> reporter: pastor mcclure said in the past he has no plans to shut down his services and he's willing to go to jail for it. so far, the church has not paid any fines. >> we're not going anywhere. the fines will be collected, and they will pay. we will continue to see this through and we will continue to vigorousl

the pastor mike mcclure said he has no plans to clockwise indoor servi services despite racking up $1illion in fines so far. but a lawyer for the church said they have a constitutional right to be there. it comes during a month in which santa clara county has seen increasing transmission rates, not bound by church walls. >> i am asthmatic. always going to church. i am always around everywhere. am i dead? no. >> reporter: in san jose, matt boone, abc 7 news. >> your health is one of the five issues we focus on in abc 7 effort help to build a better bay area. icu in the bay area is now down to 9.2%. we will be under tighter safety restrictions until the number reaches 15%. california is the first state to report 2 million coronavirus cases driven by a surge in los angeles. abc news reports over the last hour more than 2 americans tested positive for covid-19 every second. u.s. cases seem to have plateaued due to a decrease in the midwest, but even so there are concerns about a possible new spike due to christmas travel and gatherings. the pandemic reshaped how we celebrate the holidays.

we've made seven attempts with emails and phone calls over the past five days to reach lead pastor mike mcclure for comment before showing up in person to knock on the door. we later spoke to two staffers who told abc7 pastor mcclure is out of town tonight for christmas eve and the rest of the week. according to the staffer, the indoor service will go on as scheduled despite pleas from county public health officials not to. >> i urge, urge, urge anyone who is considering gathering to stop, take a deep breath, think, and don't do it. >> reporter: calvary chapel san jose is facing a slew of violations, some of which are posted on their door after repeatedly hosting indoor services since august. pastor mcclure has previously said he has no intention to shut down his services, and he is even willing to go to jail for it. >> we will continue to be active in doing so. there are real consequences. >> reporter: those consequences aren't cheap. williams says aside from legal battles, the church faces more than a million dollars in administrative fines. so far, none have been paid. >> we're not going any

mike mcclure continues to hold in-door services on sundays. that church faces more than $700,000 in fines from the county. this is for defying health orders. the attorneys will try to get the case moved to federal court because they call health restrictions unconditional. unconstitutional, i should say. >>> happening this morning, teachers in santa clara county organizing a car caravan to send a message to the office of education. they want the county to put the brakes on districts returning to in-class learning. as part of the protest, organizers plan to drive past the home of county education leaders. >>> a welcome site across the bay area overnight. rain. right now our storm ranger fueled up on san bruno mountain tracking some of those showers from sfo to richmond. a wet start after rain moved in while most of us were sleeping. meteorologist kari hall timing out when things will start to clear up for us. nice to see this rain, kari. >> yeah, i think my plants are really soaking it up and enjoying this out there. we're going to have a few mo

on december 8th, a judge will decide if the pastor of the church, mike mcclure, will be held in contempt of court and subject to arrest. we reached out to him for comment but have not received a response. in san jose, mary ianne favro, c bay area news. >>> a big construction project in berkeley that caught fire last month will now be torn down. the seven-story building caught fire on november 21st. flames burned for several days. city engineers now say the top of that building, made of wood, is unsafe so it has to come down by the end of the month. the bottom two floors are concrete and are okay to stay for now. still no word on what started this fire. >>> making it in the bay. the financial struggles of the pandemic are becoming more evident. every tuesday and thursday cars line up at the alameda county fairgrounds in pleasanton where open heart kitchen partners with tri-valley haven to offer groceries to about 700 families. this giveaway is not about christmas or the holidays. >> this is not, it's just your everyday food. like i said, they get a box of dry goods. that could be spaghett

arrive on the other side of the building, and the staff we spoke to today made it very clear pastor mike mcclurele to talk to us. on calvary chapel san jose's facebook page, the congregation calls themselves a body of believers gathering together under the lordship of jesus christ. even adding, we are conservative in theology and evangelical in spirit.

lead pastor mike mcclure has said he has no plans to close indoor service despite racking up $1 million in fines so far from santa clara county which threatened even more consequences. but a lawyer for the church told abc 7 they have a constitutional right to be there. it comes during a month in which santa clara county has seen 128 covid-19 related deaths and increasing transmission rates, not bound by church walls. >> i'm asthmatic. i'm always going to church. i'm always around everywhere. am i dead? no. >> reporter: in san jose, matt boone, abc 7 news. >>> two local police departments giving back this christmas. >> we are probably about, i'd say, a quarter way there. been here about an hour. >> the long line for christmas meals from a san francisco institution. >> here is a beautiful live shot from east bay bills looking out to san francisco. a quiet start right now but rain is starting to make its way towards the bay area and it's hitting part of the north bay right now. i'll let you know how much rain you can expect >>> good morning, everyone. we have light rain falling over parts

>>we're not putting yourself at risk you're putting others at risk that's from mike mcclure has been public about repeatedly violating public health orders even hosting press conference is not social distancing and wearing masks we have something called the united states constitution. >>which allows people to exercise their first amendment rights or religious rights and gather a guard church and this is long been considered. one of the most important rights enshrined in our constitution but santa clara county is calling the services unconstitutional the 2 sides have been in litigation, according to church attorneys so far the county find the church more than half a million dollars and counting. >>calvary church plans to challenge those fines in court i asked the lawyer, why not hold services outdoors i was told the church has no place for that set up, but they have been live streaming services here in san jose gayle ong kron 4 news all right. thank you gayle speaking of worship in san francisco. >>mass tonight here at saint peter and paul church service is being held outdoors thanks

>>we're not putting yourself at risk you're putting others at risk that sir mike mcclure has been public about repeatedly violating public health orders even hosting press conferences not social distancing and wearing masks we have something called the united states constitution. >>which allows people to exercise their first amendment rights or religious rights and gather in guard church and this is long been considered. one of the most important rights enshrined in our constitution but santa clara county is calling the services unconstitutional the 2 sides have been in litigation, according to church attorneys so far the county find the church more than half a million dollars and counting. >>calvary church plans to challenge those fines in court i asked the lawyer, why not hold services outdoors i was told the church has no place for that set up, but they have been live streaming services here in san jose gayle ong kron 4 news. >>more than 1 million americans have been vaccinated against covid so far and this may sound like a lot but the short term goal is vaccinating 20 million people

mike mcclure could be arrested at that time he and his church continue to hold indoor services for large gatherings that go against the county's covid health orders. an attorney for the church said that it's been fined nearly 800,000 for defying the orders. santa clara county said that it's trying protect people from getting covid. the church argues a recent supreme court decision bars restrictions on religious services. >> the farmer's market in mountain view continues to be a hot spot this sunday. much like grocery stores, farmer's markets are allowed to stay open in the shut down. at the mountain view market, right there at the cal train station, we saw most everyone wearing masks. >> before the new restrictions, some people got some holiday shopping in. nbc bay area reports if from the east bay. >> in downtown walnut creek, there's some signs of the holidays. sean maxwell came out and considered up coming covid restrictions. >> ultimately, and so, my husband and i came out today to make sure that we were able to get shopping in and do our last sort of outdoor dining experience. >> st

>>pastor mike mcclure explains that these church services are necessary for the mind and the spirit, a separation depression has set in for many americans leading to thoughts of suicide. the cavalry chapel, san jose has been holding weekly indoor services with an estimated 600 people some who did not wear masks and that violates the county's coronavirus prevention orders. so far the church has been fined more than half a million dollars according to their lawyer and he argues that this is all a violation of their first amendment rights. >>i want to help people it's honestly. the truth. and i'm not a policeman on not to get in the way of your freedom you have the freedom to worship god that's what the gospel is it's a choice to get the receive it or you can reject it. >>for those who want to come and worship that's what we're opening our doors for because we recognize the needs here are not just a physical body. >>the church's attorneys says that they plan to appeal they also filed an emergency motion to take this case out of california and into a federal court in the meantime it seem

>>we're not putting yourself at risk you're putting others at risk that sir mike mcclure has been public about repeatedly violating public health orders even hosting press conferences not social distancing and wearing masks we have something called the united states constitution. >>which allows people to exercise their first amendment rights or religious rights and gather in guard church and this is long been considered. one of the most important rights enshrined in our constitution but santa clara county is calling the services unconstitutional the 2 sides have been in litigation. according to church attorneys so far the county find the church more than half a million dollars and counting. >>calvary church plans to challenge those fines in court i asked the lawyer, why not hold services outdoors i was told the church has no place for that set up, but they have been live streaming services here in san jose gayle ong kron 4 news. >>so very news that the celeriac reality on christmas eve as i speak to you there 51 lives again lost and in people's have been torn apart. >>that's the unfortun

pastor mike mcclure continues to hold those indoor services on sunday.l, the church faces more than $700,000 in fines from the county for defying health orders. the church's attorney say they will try to get that case moved to federal court because they call the health restrictions unconstitutional. >>> happening this morning, teachers in santa clara county organizing a car caravan send a message to the office of education. they want the county to put the brakes on returning to in-class learning. as part of the protest, organizers plan to drive past the home of county education leaders. >>> new this morning, more people are leaving california than moving here. new population data shows 136,000 people left the state between july of last year and july of this year. not surprisingly the pandemic and working from home are big factors in the population loss. >>> a welcome sight across the bay area overnight. the rain we were expecting. right now storm ranger fueled up on san bruno mountain tracking the showers from sfo to richmond. a wet start after rain move

we've made seven attempts with emails and phone calls over the past five days to reach lead pastor mike mcclure for comment before showing up in person to knock on the door. we later spoke to two staffers who told abc7 news pastor mcclure is out of town tonight for christmas eve and the rest of the week. cavalry chapel san jose is facing a slew of violations, some of which are posted on their door after repeatedly hosting indoor service since august. pastor mcclure has previously said he has no intention to shut down his service, and he is even willing to go to jail for it. >> we will continue to be active in doing so. there are real consequences. >> reporter: those consequences aren't cheap. william says aside from legal battles, the church faces more than a million dollars in administrative fines. so far none have been paid. >> we're not going anywhere. then the fines will be collected and they will pay. >> reporter: according to the county, the average attendance for these indoor services has been around 700 people. tonight we continue to see people come in not wearing masks. for the i-team,

us cavalry chapel, san jose pastor mike mcclure emerged after facing a judge.>for being charged with contempt i want to help people it's honestly. the truth. >>and i'm not a policeman on not to get in the way of your freedom you have the freedom to worship god that's what the gospel is it's a choice to get the receive it or you can reject it. >>for those who want to come and worship that's what we're opening our doors for because we recognize the needs here are not just a physical body. >>his church has been hosting weekly indoor services with an estimated 600 people some of whom don't wear masks violating the county's coronavirus prevention orders. their lawyer acknowledges the pandemic is real, but feels the fear instilled by restrictions is inflated. >>it's real. but but it's it's not what. we need to stop the propaganda of fear. and that's what this is about. propaganda of fear that is using. this '% covid crisis to shut down churches to shut down free speech. to steal your liberties away fear that's been mongering in our culture for month after month. >>fo

>>we're not putting yourself at risk you're putting others at risk that's from mike mcclure has been public about repeatedly violating public health orders even hosting press conferences not social distancing and wearing masks we have something called the united states constitution. >>which allows people to exercise their first amendment rights or religious rights and gather in guard church and this is long been considered. one of the most important rights enshrined in our constitution but santa clara county is calling the services unconstitutional the 2 sides have been in litigation, according to church attorneys so far the county find the church more than half a million dollars and counting calvary church plans to challenge those fines in court i asked the lawyer. >>why not hold services outdoors i was told the church has no place for that set up, but they have been live streaming services. here in san jose gayle ong kron 4 news. >>on this holiest night for christians around the world, pope francis held a midnight mass that looks very different this year of course because of the pa