[Boy, I’m in a ranty mood today. That’s what I get for reading the Sunday paper.]
Just down the street (OK, the freeway) from my congregation is a little place called All-Saints Episcopal Church. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. The IRS certainly has.
You see, the IRS has decided to reinvestigate this church, possibly pulling their tax-exempt status, all because of a little sermon (PDF) by Rev. Dr. George F. Regas, Rector Emeritus, just before the 2004 election. In this sermon (which is available for download), he asked the hypothethical question: “If Jesus debated Senator Kerry and President Bush…” You see, IRS rules prohibit churches from endorsing candidates by name, and this sermon troubled them (even though, in the 4th paragraph, he explicitly states: “Jesus does win! And I don’t intend to tell you how to vote.”). In response to the sermon, the IRS requested the church turn over a lengthy list of documents, including every instance in which they mention any elected official or candidate in their worship. As the current rector noted, “Since we pray for President Bush by name Sunday by Sunday and because of the breadth of the other IRS questions, we noted that the volume of paper required to respond would be both overwhelming and irrelevant to the examination.” The church board has officially decided to fight this summons in court. Good for them!
I’m also very proud of our Rabbi, who stated from the pulpit that our congregation is standing behind All-Saints.
So, what should we, denizens of the Internet do? My suggestion is this: Let’s become the eyes and ears for hypocracy. Let’s attend all of these congregations that like to demonize individual politicians. Let’s take notes, just like that fellow who wanted campus republicans to rat out teachers who endorsed liberals. And lets drop a few citizen observations to the IRS.
The Daily News, in their editorial, got it right when they said “Preachers naturally talk about morality, and morality necessarily figures into every political decision we make — or at least it should.” If the “religious right” wants to imbuse religious morality into political discourse (e.g., stem cells, a woman’s right to do with her body what she damn well pleases), then the pulpit should be able to at least call them on it when religion and the quest for justice requires us to say they are wrong (although not by name).
Boy, am I not glad I’m a 503(c) organization!
