Free Republic

A liberal church that has been threatened with the loss of its tax- exempt status over an anti-war sermon delivered just days before the 2004 presidential election said Thursday it will fight an IRS order to turn over documents on the matter. "We're going to put it in their court and in a court of law so that we can get an adjudication to some very fundamental issue here that we see as an intolerable infringement of rights," Bob Long, senior warden of All Saints Church, told The Associated Press. He said the church's 26-member vestry voted unanimously to resist...

Pasadena -- With the campaign season in full swing, a liberal church is locked an escalating dispute with the IRS over an anti-war sermon — delivered two days before the 2004 presidential election — that could cost the congregation its tax-exempt status. Religious leaders on both the right and left are watching closely, afraid the confrontation at All Saints Church in this Los Angeles suburb will compromise their ability to speak out on issues of moral importance such as abortion and gay marriage during the midterm elections. Under federal tax law, church officials can legally discuss politics, but to retain...

Liberal Calif. Church Will Decide Soon Whether to Fight IRS Summons By The Associated Press Mon, Sep. 18 2006 11:10 AM ET[-] Text [+] SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER PRINT E-MAIL MORE FROM SECTION LOS ANGELES (AP) - A liberal church at the center of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over a 2004 sermon will decide this week whether to fight an IRS summons. Related IRS Investigating Liberal Calif. Church (September 17, 2006) The IRS is requesting a number of documents be produced by Sept. 29 and that the church's rector, Rev. Ed Bacon, testify before an IRS agent on...

The Internal Revenue Service has ordered a prominent liberal church to turn over documents and e-mails it produced during the 2004 election year that contain references to political candidates. The IRS is investigating whether All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena violated the federal tax code when its former rector, Rev. George F. Regas, delivered an anti-war sermon on the eve of the last presidential election. Tax-exempt organizations are barred from intervening in political campaigns and elections, and the church could lose its tax-exempt status. Rev. Ed Bacon received a summons Thursday ordering the church to present any politically charged sermons,...