New Ipswich town officials and said Thursday that after meeting with members of The Last Reformation, they believe the traveling evangelical group will follow New Hampshire’s COVID-19 guidelines after all.
In a video press release issued Thursday, Last Reformation leader Torben Sondergaard said reports that the group had violated COVID-19 guidelines at their previous stop in Des Plaines, Illinois were due to local officials changing their mandates after the group had already arrived in town, and that they’d always planned to follow local guidelines when they arrived in New Hampshire. Reports to the contrary in newspapers were “fake news” and “lies,” he said, despite the fact that local event organizer Lars Somero told the New Ipswich Select Board at last week’s video-recorded meeting that he didn’t expect the traveling evangelists to wear masks, quarantine, and socially distance.
Sondergaard said he’d received a prophecy a few weeks back that told him “the enemy” was going to try and stop the events planned for New Ipswich, using “COVID-19 to persecute us,” and that the media reports and Tuesday’s emergency order from Governor Sununu were part of that persecution.
New Ipswich Police Chief Tim Carpenter issued a statement Thursday afternoon explaining that he and other town officials have “worked diligently” to ensure the revival gathering – which the town has no legal recourse to prevent from happening – would go on as safely as possible.
“I have every intention of enforcing the Governor’s emergency orders,” Carpenter wrote. “However, we are working with the Attorney General’s office regarding this issue. How that is accomplished will not stop the event from continuing unless the event organizers wish to stop it.”
Fire Chief Merideth Lund said she thought the group was doing “the best they can” after going out to inspect their home base at Rep. Paul Somero’s Locke Road property. Lund said the safety protocols and tent permits were all in order. Gathering places for worship are mandated to limit attendance to 50 percent capacity, and Lund said the group their tents set up with about 200 chairs – spaced six feet apart – under the 400-capacity tent. A table with hand sanitizer and masks was set up at the entrance to the tent, and Lund said she was told the group would turn away anyone who showed up with COVID-19 symptoms.
“As far as the COVID stuff, I’m pretty confident that they’re going to do everything they can to keep the risk low for the community and themselves,” Lund said. “They look like they are really trying to follow the CDC guidelines and the mandates from the governor,” Lund said.
Sondergaard’s “Wake Up America” revival is set to begin Friday and continue through Aug. 23.