House Church Talk - house churhes among Episcopals

[forwarded]

Forwarded as recent information, not as an endorsement. - Forwarder

    New Hampshire 

Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson's declaration of support for Sen. John 
Kerry during an address at Franklin Pierce College last week raised a few 
eyebrows and posed a few questions about clergymen and politics. 

Some observers said the influential churchman had crossed that 
unforgiving line separating his clerical role as conduit between God and 
man from his individual role as an advocate for a political candidate, in 
this case the Democratic Party candidate for President of the United 
States. 

Others wondered if Robinson had also endangered the Internal Revenue 
Service Code benefits enjoyed by the Episcopal Diocese, tax exemptions 
that are predicated on church adherence to strictly defined political 
neutrality. 

But, though the Internal Revenue Service code does prohibit the conduct 
of partisan politics, including endorsement, by churches and other 
religious organizations, the restriction doesn't extend to church 
officials when they are speaking OFF CHURCH PROPERTY and when they 
acknowledge they are expressing their own opinions and not that of their 
church. 

A perusal of the relevant tax code shows that had Robinson stated his 
support for Kerry from the pulpit or anywhere else on church grounds, or 
had he done so anywhere without making it clear it was his own opinion, 
there might have been tax consequences for the Episcopal Diocese. But he 
did not. 

U.S. income tax section 501(c)(3) grants federal tax exemptions to 
churches and other charitable organizations, with the proviso that they 
not support any political party or any candidate for public office. 

State law also provides an exemption from real estate taxes to charitable 
organizations providing they own the real estate and restrict its use to 
charitable purposes. The statute, RSA 72:23, doesn't prohibit political 
activity, but Manchester attorney Brad Cook says if the federal 
government revoked an organization's tax-exempt status, the state might 
'take a look' at that organization, too. 

Tax code and ethics 

Conversations with attorney Cook and various Protestant, Catholic and 
Jewish churchmen reveal nearly unanimous support of the rightness of the 
50-year-old federal tax-exemption code, but with somewhat diverging views 
on the ethics underlying the expression of opinions on parties and 
candidates by church and temple leaders. 

The Rev. Garrett Lear opposes anything that, according to his historical 
research, smacks of government control of churches. That includes 
501(c)(3). 

The leader of the Well of Living Water Christian Fellowship, A 
NON-HIERARCHICAL 'New Testament' church, says, 'Church freedom from 
government control is one of the major issues today. 

'The Bible doesn't say the government gave us the right to God,' says 
Lear, who prefers the title, patriot/pastor. 

'Our founding fathers knew this,' Lear said. 'They knew their Bible 
inside and out and they wanted to be sure the church would never be 
muzzled.' 

Lear has preached in New Hampshire for more than nine years, until 
recently in rented quarters in the North Hampton Town Hall. Lear now 
lives in Wakefield and gives guidance to the approximately 60 New 
Hampshire parishioners who CONDUCT THEIR CHURCH SERVICES IN SEVERAL HOMES 
KNOWN AS 'HOUSE CHURCHES.' Lear says there are a couple of hundred people 
starting similar churches in other parts of the country. 

Lear reserves the right to share his feelings on matters of politics but 
doesn't believe in instructing his parishioners how to vote. 

'If someone asks me who to vote for,' Lear says, 'I ask, 'Do you believe 
in abortion?'' among other questions on issues on which candidates have 
made their positions known. 

'What I try to teach people is vote your conscience,' Lear said. 'It 
becomes a little difficult in some circumstances because there aren't a 
lot of choices. 

'But I do not tell people to 'vote the lesser of two evils,'' Lear says. 
'I say, vote your conscience.' 

from: http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=46358