Nearly 350 churches in Ontario have signed a letter urging Premier Doug Ford to allow them to reopen in June, "with appropriate medical precautions developed in consultation with civil authorities."

A number of churches from a variety of denominations drafted the letter together before sending it off on Tuesday. The group is led by Rev. Dr. Aaron Rock of Harvest Chapel Windsor and Rev. Dr. Joe Boot of Westminster Chapel in Toronto.

The letter says that "Neither confessional Christian faith nor the Church institute can faithfully exist without a Lord’s Day gathering.

"We would respectfully remind the civil government that the church does not exist by permission of the state, for its establishment and rule is found in Jesus Christ himself. Please remember, the existence and freedom of the church institute long predates the founding of the Christian Dominion of Canada (our Coat of Arms citing Psalm 72:8), so we cannot stress enough how troubling and perplexing these times have been for us."

Church leaders that have signed the letter say that over the past two months they've been put in a difficult position. On one hand, they view closing church doors to slow the spread of COVID-19 as a form of loving our neighbours as Jesus commanded. On the other, they feel that Scripture "obliges us to meet for worship, sacraments and spiritual ministry to both the healthy and the sick.

"In weighing this dilemma, whilst seeking to respect civil authority in light of God’s ultimate authority, we rightly chose to voluntarily and temporarily cease meeting. We did so to demonstrate love to our fellow citizens during a time of great uncertainty as well as difficulty for civil authorities working with limited information. As Christians, we do not fear death because of the resurrection hope that is ours through Christ, but we deeply desire to show love to all people."

Signatories also say that the closures of churches and the limitations placed on ministers have caused adverse side effects on marginalized people. "We know as pastors that addictions are resurfacing and that isolation, unemployment and economic ruin are taking their toll on family relationships and physical and mental health. Our service to the poor and disadvantaged in the community has been curbed, with serious implications for the most vulnerable. To save lives are we actually sacrificing lives? In short, we implore you that we must start meeting very soon because of our obligations to God and because our people need us. We cannot delay."

The letter argues that since grocery stores are still open and Ontario has recently announced more retail openings, such as shopping malls and garden centres, churches should also be included.

The letter says that churches should be allowed to open while enforcing distancing protocols. It also says that ministries and services could be limited to 40 per cent of building capacities, and buildings to be thoroughly cleaned and hand sanitizing stations provided. Churches would also require members to "explicitly affirm that they have no symptoms, have not travelled out of the country within the last fourteen days and have not been in contact with anyone with the virus in order to attend."

Church leaders have asked the premier to respond by May 29.

In response to a request for comment, Premier Doug Ford's spokesperson, Ivana Yelich, told CBC News in Ontario "It's important we remain vigilant to avoid additional surges or waves. Our focus is on ensuring the health and safety of Ontarians by ensuring people continue to follow the public health measures in place, including hand-washing, social distancing and avoiding public gatherings.

"Ontarians have done a good job so far and health experts are looking at how measures can be scaled back and reduced as we plan the next stages of re-opening our province. But as always, we will continue to rely on our chief medical officer of health, Dr. Williams."