New York City churches are awaiting word from the U.S. Supreme Court about whether they can continue meeting for worship services in the city’s public school buildings outside of class time. The tremendous growth of congregations in the city and their important work there, especially in their local neighborhoods, could be significantly stymied unless the Supreme Court steps into the matter or Mayor Bill De Blasio takes action to help the religious groups now meeting in the schools.
In most U.S. communities, it is common for local cities and school boards to allow churches and other religious groups to rent empty space during non-school hours for worship services. But that is not the case in New York City. By policy, New York City public schools are open during non-school hours for use by community groups for any activity “pertaining to the welfare of the community.” The policy permits churches to meet for afterschool programs or Bible studies but specifically bans worship services.
Small Church Stands for Equal Access
Enter Bronx Household of Faith, a small, intrepid church that has ministered to the people of a poor neighborhood in the University Heights area since 1972. In 1995, the church asked school officials whether they could move their worship services to a neighborhood school that sat vacant on Sundays. School officials denied the request because of the policy banning worship services. The church, with help from Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a lawsuit challenging the policy in 1995. Although this lawsuit has a long and turbulent history, a federal district court judge declared the policy unconstitutional in 2002, which has allowed churches and other religious groups to meet in the schools for the past 12 years.
During this time, new churches have started, and established congregations have grown because they were able to meet in the schools. For example, Tim Keller’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church, the Southern Baptists, the Assemblies of God, and numerous others have started or expanded churches that have met for a time in the public schools. Currently, approximately 60 to 75 churches are now meeting in the 1,200 New York City school buildings on weekends, along with many other Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and other religious groups.
These churches make a considerable difference in their neighborhoods and the city. People who suffered from the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy found help from churches meeting in schools in lower Manhattan and Staten Island. Many of the churches minister to immigrant communities, such as the Koreans and Dominicans. Other congregations reach out to the poorest people in the five boroughs, providing tangible aid and comfort through Christ because they hold worship services in neighborhood schools. In many of the poor areas of the city, no facilities exist where someone can conduct a meeting, hold a class, or have a church meeting, except for a school. In other cities and towns across the United States, local school boards and governments see allowing religious groups to meet in empty public schools during non-school hours as a huge win-win for both and the religious groups and the communities at large.
In the next few weeks, all of that could change for the worse in New York City with the possibility that school officials could evict the churches. Last April, by a 2-1 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed the injunction that allowed churches and other religious groups to meet for worship services. The court ruled that New York City could enforce its policy against worship services. Bronx Household of Faith, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, won a stay of that order and then appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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SOURCE: The Gospel Coalition
Jordan Lorence
