A legal organization representing a Louisville-area church that filed a lawsuit against Gov. Andy Beshear is calling on churches around the country to follow Maryville Baptist’s lead and reopen early next month.

Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit that provides legal assistance in cases involving evangelical causes, has dubbed May 3 as “ReOpen Church Sunday,” according to a news release from the group, and is encouraging churchgoers to fill the pews as they did earlier in April at Maryville Baptist Church in Bullitt County.

The call to action notes that families who attend services, which are currently banned in Kentucky as the commonwealth fights the spread of the coronavirus under Beshear’s “healthy at home” restrictions, should practice social distancing and “include appropriate measures of sanitization,” and include other options like reduced seating, live videos online and parking lot services for those who do not want to enter a church.

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Mat Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, had previously argued churchgoers have been unfairly targeted for gathering while shoppers at local stores and other meeting places have been given a pass. He and his organization filed a lawsuit against Beshear on Friday after attendees five days earlier at an Easter Sunday service — the only in-person service in state on that day, Beshear said — were issued quarantine notices by Kentucky State Police troopers.

At least 50 people were in the building for the April 12 event. Church members gathered again the following Sunday but were not issued notices.

Liberty Counsel had previously filed a motion in an attempt to block Beshear's order banning faith-based mass gatherings as part of its Maryville Baptist lawsuit, but a federal judge blocked it over the weekend, saying the order bans all mass gatherings and does not target religious groups.

Staver once represented former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis when she refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses in 2015. Liberty Counsel has previously been cited as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a label Staver's organization has disputed.

Don't expect Kentucky's constraints on mass gatherings to be eased by May 3. Health officials in the state have said they expect cases to peak soon, and Beshear has said while some restrictions could be eased in coming weeks, it will take time for others to be lifted. Loosening constraints related to health care will likely be the first priority, he said Friday.

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Kentucky recently joined a regional partnership with six other nearby states to collaborate on plans to gradually reopen for business.

Lucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach. Support strong local journalism and subscribe: www.courier-journal.com/lucasa.