Ponderings

The plight of All Saints Episcopal Church was in the news again this week. All Saints is a large, influential, and progressive congregation in Pasadena, California. (read: important distinction – progressive) Just prior to the Presidential election of 2004, the guest speaker offered a stinging denouncement of the war in Iraq in a sermon entitled, “If Jesus debated John Kerry and President Bush”. Although he begins the sermon assuring the congregation that Jesus wins the debate and he won’t tell anyone how to vote, he is unapologetically critical of the direction this nation is headed. He makes strident statements like, “No matter what rhetoric is used, any public policy that makes a child’s life more miserable is an abomination before God.” Quite frankly neither candidate in that contentious election measured up to the Jesus standard that George Regas offered in his sermon, hence his opening comment that Jesus wins the debate, not either of the balloted candidates. The IRS made noises in 2005 about investigating, but went silent. In July 2006 the IRS sent a summons to the church and its rector demanding information for an investigation. A couple of ironies are of course pertinent, not the least of which is that our closest Roman Catholic Archbishop during that same election cycle threatened to excommunicate voters who strayed from anti-abortion candidates and no one questions the Roman Catholic church’s tax standing. For the IRS to target a progressive church in an election that was visibly swayed by conservative pulpits is at best a mockery. In fairness we should clarify that what is at stake is not a person or group’s right to make political statements, but the extent to which political statements can be made and still be considered “nonpartisan” enough to maintain tax exempt status. And I have to confess that if the IRS functions to muzzle the preaching of the gospel, than I say bring on the taxes. Let’s remove the tax exempt status of all organizations that lobby candidates and that take stands on issues. (read: eliminate tax exempt status all together) But since this an unlikely outcome, and All Saints is bearing the brunt of the legal expense of the latest power play in a divisive culture, our contributions to support their legal defense would be timely.