May 6, 2008
The House Where Jesus Shines, Inc., provides services to former prison inmates. But because of discriminatory intervention by the city of Bellmead, this nonprofit ministry in Texas has found itself effectively locked out of the community.
Sponsored by the Church of the Open Door, HWJS offers faith-based transitional care, substance-abuse treatment, and recovery services to 45 male parolees. The ministry also provides its residents with job training and assistance in locating employment. Last December, HWJS purchased a previously vacant building located in a Bellmead industrial zone, one which permitted their proposed activities. The ministry conducted inspections and made various necessary improvements to prepare the building, and was ready for business...when the city suddenly reversed course.
City officials enacted an ordinance that – by design – prohibits HWJS from operating not only in its new building, but anywhere else in the city. ADF-allied attorney Dan Dalton quickly got involved, filing a federal lawsuit on Wednesday, April 23. The lawsuit asserts that the Bellmead ordinance violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the U.S. Constitution.
"Churches should not be singled out for discrimination by a city's zoning restrictions," said Dalton. "In this case, city officials violated federal law when they chose to pass this discriminatory ordinance."
A copy of the complaint is available at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/HWJSComplaint.pdf.
The House Where Jesus Shines provides a vital service that changes lives, and the leaders of the ministry took all the necessary steps to secure legal occupancy in their new building. Please pray for God's blessing as we remain committed to defending the rights of HWJS and other ministries throughout the country.
National Day of Prayer
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Alan Sears is pictured at the White House last Thursday with Vonette Bright, founding Chairwoman of the National Day of Prayer, widow of ADF founder, the late Dr. Bill Bright. |
Last Thursday, the date established by Congress in 1988 and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, was the National Day of Prayer. I was honored to pray at the White House event with Chairwoman Shirley Dobson, Honorary Chairperson Ravi Zacharias, and President Bush. Tens of thousands of local prayer events were held across the nation.
In preparation for the event, ADF sent an information letter to nearly 1,200 cities throughout the nation, informing them of their constitutional right to recognize and participate in the event. Attorneys with ADF and our allies have protected National Day of Prayer observances from coast to coast in recent years including litigation in Tucson, Arizona; Madison, Wisconsin; and Oak Park, Illinois.
Be assured, as long as God enables, ADF will continue our efforts to legally protect
Our First Liberty – religious freedom. Thank you for your continued prayers!
A copy of the ADF informational letter is available at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/NDPLetter2008.pdf.