Persecution Collection
Editors note: we have reported in the past on instances of increasing persecution of Christians in the U.S. Since more and more seems to be happening, we've decided to make a special section detailing some of the instances that are continually occurring. Read on, and be amazed!
Church baptism halted by park official
04 Jun 2004
FREDERICKSBURG, Va.
Rappahannock River park officials cancelled a Virginia pastor's plans to baptize a church member at a waterfront park, claiming that the ceremony would violate park policy against water activity.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Fredericksburg-Stafford Park Authority Director Brian Robinson's handling of the incident has come under scrutiny.
Robinson told another pastor, the Rev. John H. Reid, he will allow him to baptize a church member at Old Mill Park in Fredericksburg on Sunday afternoon.
"It seems to be just a small, casual group, and we wouldn't have a permit issue," Robinson said. Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the Times-Dispatch the ACLU will monitor the event. He said the ACLU is prepared to take legal action if park officials ban baptisms or otherwise discriminate against religious activities. Willis said he is troubled by the lack of a hard-and-fast policy at the park.
"What they have are traditions, maybe even de facto rules, but they are very vague," he said. "We will need to be vigilant."
The Rev. Todd Pyle of Cornerstone Baptist Church said he had baptized 12 people in the river at Falmouth Waterfront Park in Stafford County before he was told by a park official to stop.
Pyle said Robinson told him such a ceremony was prohibited because the park discourages water activity.
Robinson said churches and other groups are allowed to hold events at a park shelter but that they must first obtain a permit. He also said the park authority is reviewing the guidelines. Robinson said he is not requiring a permit for Sunday's baptism, primarily because Reid's New Generation Evangelical Episcopal Church apparently plans no other activities at the same time and the baptism will only attract a small group of 10 to 20.
Reid said he has baptized about 40 people in the past six years at waterfront parks operated by the regional park authority.
From ChurchCentral.com
State to shut down church camp
20 May 2004
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
A Bible camp run by the Priest Lake Community Baptist Church in the Antioch area may be shut down by the Tennessee Department of Human Services after members of the government agency toured the site using a court order.
According to WTVF News Channel 5 and the Associated Press, government workers had been tipped off by a fire official making a routine inspection that dozens of children were on the premises and there was no license to run a day care center.
The Human Services workers brought metro police and sheriff's department officers with them for the inspection. They told the church that all day cares must be licensed by the state and comply with day care regulations on facilities, food preparation, safety and hiring practices. Certified day care staff must also be screened with criminal background checks and trained. Wednesday morning, workers from the Tennessee Department of Human Services used a court order to tour a Nashville church's self-proclaimed bible camp to determine if the camp was actually an unlicensed day care. Following the tour, a spokesman for the state said they would seek a court order to stop the church's program because they determined it to be a day care. Church representatives say their program is a Bible camp and state day care regulations do not apply. The church said matters of hiring and programming are better left to the congregation -- not state employees.
from ChurchCentral.com
Revival Rental Rebuked
June 4, 2004
The Arkansas Arts Center is taking a look at its building rental policies as a result of complaints about plans to rent the Arts Center theater to evangelists for 21 nights. Susan Pfeifer, a member of the Arts Center Board of Trustees, was among those unhappy about the rental.
"I had no idea about it and it really upset me," Pfeifer said. She, and others who objected to use of the publicly owned Arts Center for a religious program, learned of it last Friday when a mass mailing hit mail boxes. Pfeifer was among several who called Nan Plummer, executive director of the Arts Center, to object.
City Attorney Tom Carpenter had a similar opinion to a U. S. Supreme Court ruling. "If we make property available on a commercial basis, the message can't be any of our concern," he said. The arts center is city property, though it is supported mostly by donations.
Pfeifer said she was concerned about not only content, but also potential conflicts with the summer program for children, which uses the theater. Plummer said the evangelism would occur after normal business hours, beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 5 and continuing five nights a week, a total of 21 nights, through early July.
Plummer said the Arts Center rented to "all kinds of groups for all kinds of purposes" and had to be mindful of the law in deciding who could and could not rent. "We appreciate people's concern and are studying the matter and figuring out what we may and should do." At press time, cancellation of the rental had not been ruled out.
Plummer noted that she was not aware when the facility was booked that there was to be a public solicitation for attendance.
Arts Center rules allow charitable fund-raisers to be held there, but the rules say that the tickets have to be pre-sold. The prophecy program, which includes music and preaching, is advertised as free. The brochure doesn't mention if collections will be taken.
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