Bureaucrats target 'Cowboy Church'

Bureaucrats target 'Cowboy Church'
Farmer opens barn for services, county slaps him with violation notice

A county in Virginia has cited a farmer there because he hosts Thursday night worship services in his barn on a 900-acre farm.

According to a statement from Liberty Counsel, which is representing the man, Garland Simmons recently received a Notice of Violation from Bedford County stating that his barn cannot be used for religious services. Simmons' 900-acre piece of property apparently isn't zoned for such meetings.

"Barns in Bedford County can apparently be used for dancing to the tunes of Toby Keith or Reba, but a church service reciting the Psalms of David or praise and worship with Casting Crowns are not allowed," said Liberty Counsel's Mathew Staver. "Bedford County is wrong to prohibit religious services in a barn in the middle of a field. Bedford County should immediately reverse its decision, because it is treading on unconstitutional ground."

The religious-liberties law group has sent a demand letter to county officials on behalf of Raymond Bell, the pastor of the Cowboy Church of Virginia, the organization that has been using the barn for several months. The letter asserts that Bedford County is violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the First Amendment. It requests the county immediately rescind the Notice of Violation or face a possible federal lawsuit.

According to its website, the Cowboy Church's motto is: "Where everybody is somebody and Jesus Christ is Lord."