ACLU Fights for Christian Church's Mission to Feed the Poor

[AAsch at aol.com]

I thought list members might be interested in the ACLU's latest fight for  
Christian free exercise rights
 
The full January 11 article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette is at:
 
_http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07011/752795-152.stm_ 
(http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07011/752795-152.stm) 
 
Here is an excerpt:
 
"At the hearing she requested to obtain the  variance, two neighbors 
testified that soup kitchen patrons might pose a threat  to public safety if they 
loitered in the neighborhood's many abandoned  buildings. Six people testified in 
Ms. Foster's behalf, but the variance was  denied and the meal program ended. 
 
'Our position is that this soup kitchen is part  of the church's mission, and 
no separate application should be required,' lawyer  Alan Shuckrow said.  
Mr. Shuckrow stepped in to handle Ms. Foster's  appeal after the ACLU 
contacted his law firm. A Republican member of the North  Allegheny school board, 
he's pro bono counsel and a former board member of North  Hills Community 
Outreach, a long-established food pantry which sits on the  campus of St. Paul United 
Methodist Church in McCandless.  
Feeding the hungry and clothing the poor are  core ministries of any church, 
Mr. Shuckrow pointed out. Ruling that people  can't go to a church to be fed, 
he said, 'is like saying a law firm can't hold a  large client meeting.'"
This case is another addition to my EVER GROWING list of links at: _ACLU 
Fights for  Christians_ (http://www.aclufightsforchristians.com/) 
 

Allen Asch

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