Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 18, 2026 — The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Miles Mullin made the following statement about the church service disruption that took place today in St. Paul, Minnesota:
“The sanctity of church services should be inviolable. In America, the state has a responsibility, not just to let people gather to worship, but to protect people who are peacefully assembling to exercise their constitutional right to worship. What happened today at Cities Church in St. Paul is a gross violation of the First Amendment. The ERLC calls on Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to denounce the protests that interrupted services today and to commit to protecting the right of this church—and all churches through Minnesota—to assemble free of threat.”
