Temple Baptist Church members will not have to pay $500 tickets for attending church in their vehicles.

The $500 tickets issued April 8 for churchgoers who attended their church service in their vehicles from the parking lot with their windows closed have been rescinded, reports CBN News.

Greenville, Mississippi Mayor Erick Simmons made the announcement Monday

Members of the church were cited last week for not heeding an executive order issued by Simmons requiring church buildings to be closed to all kinds of services, including drive-in services, in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Simmons' executive order came in addition to an earlier order issued by state governor Tate Reeves.

The attendees were listening to the Sunday sermon from the church parking lot because many who attend Temple Baptist Church do not have the ability to access the service online. As an alternative, many people listen to the sermon on a low-frequency FM radio.

A backlash to the citations in the national media and on social media may have contributed to the tickets being rescinded.

In a press conference on the steps of Greenville City Hall, Simmons addressed comments being made about him in the news and online.

"To publicly state this mayor is targeting a church is unacceptable and reprehensible," Simmons says.

Currently, the 10-person limit on gatherings remains in place, but Simmons is asking for further guidance on the issue of drive-in and parking lot church services from Gov. Reeves.

"As government officials and citizens continue to confront new situations caused by the current crisis, they must do so responsibly and reflectively, continuing to be a bulwark against encroachments—however well-meaning or unintentional—against our constitutional liberties," he pointed out. 

"If they do so, the sincerely held religious beliefs of all people of faith will be better protected, and our country can emerge from the crisis having reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the constitutional rights of all people—during the good times as well as the bad," Smith concluded.