Two Victories To Be Thankful For

I want to report two victories that we have obtained for religious freedom.  The first involves Calvary Chapel in Los Angeles, California, a church which has been expanding its outreach to the community.  As part of its outreach, they desired to use a recreational facilitys meeting room for the purpose of Bible Study and worship.  Despite several Supreme Court cases that weve argued on this point, the recreational facility officials refused to allow the church to use the facility, citing church-state separation.  Our legal staff at the American Center for Law and Justice went to work on the situation; and I am happy to report that we received word from the city attorney stating that they will, in fact, allow Calvary Chapel to utilize the facilities on the same terms and conditions as everyone else.  Additionally, they have assured us that their use policy will allow other churches and religious groups to utilize the facility on an equal-access basis. 

Across the country in Acton, Massachusetts, a local church wanted to advertise its live nativity event on a banner above the main street of the city.  Other organizations were allowed to use this banner space for advertising their events.  Again, this church was denied on the same basis as the situation in California.  Government officials cited church-state separation as a basis to deny the churchs advertisement for the live nativity program.  Our Northeast Regional Office went to work on the situation; and I am happy to report that this case has also been resolved and the advertising for the live nativity event will be posted.  We have also been assured that their policy will not discriminate against advertising of a religious nature. 

We received a contact yesterday evening that our office is now working on.  A high school student in Rancho Cucamonga, California, has been told that in their art project, which included the design of a holiday card, they would be prohibited from utilizing the words Christmas, God, or Jesus.  Our lawyers are going to work on the situation immediately, and we will keep you posted as it develops.