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Bronx Household Of Faith And Other Ny Churches To Be Without Meeting Place
Author : Timothy Huguenin
The New York Times reports on a recent Supreme Court ruling that sets a precedent which may have hard implications for other churches and religious groups, both presently and in the future. Apparently, the Bronx Household of Faith has been denied the ability to hold worship services in a nearby public school building, a practice its been continuing since 2002 and one that many churches in the area have also employed in order to make room for their growth.
Pray for our brothers and sisters as hundreds will be seeking a place for worship, since the city is seeking to kick them out of the public schools by mid-February of this coming year. Pastor Robert Hall (one of the elders there at BHOF), conversing with me via email, confirmed that this ruling may have drastic implications for churches besides his own. "This has become a much larger issue than The Bronx Household of Faith, needing a larger place to meet," he said. "I just spoke with someone from a Korean church in Manhattan who rent school space. They have 700 in attendance. If they have to rent commercial space in Manhattan it will blow their budget."
The Bronx Household of Faiths website shows that they are currently raising funds for their own building, and they are over halfway to their goal. I asked Pastor Hall for some numbers to show us how they're doing there. Here's his response:
We are awaiting an updated proposal from our contractor. . . . I didn't have confirmation of new figures until a couple of days ago. It is still an educated guess but my best estimate at this point is that we have raised $1.8 million do date and we need an additional $300,000 to complete the project. We may have to revise these figures but they are close.
Your help with their building needs is encouraged, since they are more critical now that the government is keeping them from their past temporary meeting place while they wait for funds. I have confirmed with Pastor Hall that their church's mailing address is correct as it appears on their website:
2235 University Avenue
Bronx, NY 10453
To encourage prayers and support, I'm trying to get a page going on Facebook that may be used to raise awareness. Please spread the "Likes" for www.facebook.com/supportbhof and consider donating.
To contact them and let them know that our prayers are with them, we can email the elders, roberthall@bhof.org and jackleroyroberts@juno.com.
Let us not forget from where are true freedom comes: the Sovereign Governor, Adonai, Jesus, the King of Kings (Is. 9:6, Rev. 19:16). He has absolute control over these legal proceedings (Prov. 21:1). Pray that He would provide a place to worship for those churches like the Bronx Household, whose attendance is too large for meeting in homes but not yet financially able to obtain a permanent pace for corporate worship. No matter how the government limits assemblies in the future, we can always worship Christ--though one day we may do so in chains. Pray for the strength of future persecuted believers and those being persecuted today; many still die for their faith.
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