I had the privilege of being part of something really cool today.
On Friday, Jen told me about a meeting that she thought I might be interested in going to. She had been told by her MIC supervisor and he said she was invited and could bring a friend if she wanted; but we had to keep it quiet. Why the secrecy and what kind of meeting was this?
For the past three months, an ecumenical group of local clergy have been meeting along with some lawyers in an attempt to write a complaint addressed to the IRS. They believe (and I think rightfully so) that the pastor of World Harvest Church in Columbus, Rod Parsley, and another pastor of a church in Lancaster, OH, and their churches have been violating the IRS tax code. They have been using their churches as a means for electioneering. So, they had finally crafted the complaint asking for the IRS to investigate these two pastors and their churches; calling additionally for an injunction. Today’s meeting was a meeting of local clergy to sign this so it can be sent to Washington.
This has the possibility of being huge and as I write this, the story should be going out on the AP wire. Plus, it will also be appearing in the New York Times and the Columbus Dispatch. NPR has already interviewed Jen’s MIC supervisor and the story should appear there too. Rod Parsely and World Harvest have become ‘rising stars’ in the national religious arena as well as the conservative Christian political arena. I actually saw him on Larry King Live some time last fall. Additionally, in light of the IRS tax investigation of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA, this should make national news. With all this media coverage (hopefully), it would be dumb for the IRS to ignore it.
So anyway, we’ll see where this goes. As I am not clergy yet, I didn’t sign it, but that’s ok. Getting to be there and witness this was kind of cool. I hope it works because I, honestly, think that what Parsley and his church claim to be the gospel is in fact a load of crap. Health and wealth will not be bestowed on you by Jesus because you give your life savings to World Harvest, Rod Parsely, and whatever causes they might support. It angers me.
In fact, I just checked the New York Times website and sure enough, there was the story underneath National News. Here’s the link to the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/national/16church.html
Anyway, that’s the scoop... we’ll see what happens next.
Kate
2 comments:
Wow - thanks for posting this. How great it must have been to be present at this meeting. I read the article and will look for future movement on this.
Hi, Katie:
I was the architect of the IRS complaint filed by the 31 pastors. On the 15th I was the woman who read aloud a portion of the complaint. I seek a low profile because I'm neither a member of the clergy nor do I have any background in law. I just wanted to thank you for writing so openly and authentically about your experience of that night. I'm really pleased that you were a part of that.
I look forward to where it goes from here. There are some suggestions, from relevant changes in the behavior of one of the pastors, that the entities may have received a letter notifying them of an impending audit. I cannot confirm that - it's speculation on the part of persons who are familiar with the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS and how it operationalizes the audit procedure.
Anyway, your blog is both interesting and delightful to read - I've read several of the posts.
I wish you all the best.
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