Chattanooga church sues to hold drive-in services

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee church is challenging a local ban on drive-in church services.

The church joins a growing list of lawsuits seeking to push back against limitations on religious gatherings that have been enacted to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

A conservative legal group called Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit this week on behalf of Metropolitan Tabernacle Church, based in Chattanooga.

The complaints follows Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke’s declaration that drive-in religious services would violate the city’s shelter-in-place directive that has been in place since April 2.

The number of confirmed cases of the virus in Tennessee climbed to more than 6,500 on Friday.