The 3 - August 27, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three recent stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes the instance of a ministry finding that its bank had closed its account.  Also, Louisiana students will be seeing the national motto in school beginning this school year.  And, a Canadian pastor will have charges dropped against him and his church after the congregation continued to meet during COVID.

Another bank severs ties with Christian organization

A few months ago, I shared a conversation with former Ambassdor-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, who is also a former U.S. Senator and Kansas Governor, Sam Brownback.  In our interview, he related that an organization he leads, the National Committee for Religious Freedom, had its bank account at JP Morgan Chase closed out.  This occurred last year.

Now, another religious organization may have experienced a similar set of circumstances.  Ministry Watch reported that Indigenous Advance Ministries, described as "a Christian ministry group that supports needy children in Uganda," had its account closed by Bank of America.  The ministry had received a letter that stated, "Upon review of your account(s), we have determined you’re operating a business type we have chosen not to service at Bank of America...” The article goes on to say: "Another letter informed them the bank would be restricting the ministry’s deposit account with a balance of over $270,000 and close it within 30 days."

Members of the ministry's board went to the bank for answers, but did not receive more information. The Ministry Watch article relates:

Now the Memphis-based ministry has filed a consumer complaint with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office “to investigate whether the bank illegally discriminated against the charity because of its religious views,” read a press statement released August 22 by Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious liberty legal defense group helping Indigenous Advance.

The article does say that, "Bank of America contacted MinistryWatch, stating that it doesn’t offer banking services to groups that provide debt collection services nor does it serve small businesses operating outside the United States."

Louisiana students will see national motto in schools

Students going back to school in the state of Louisiana will be seeing a motto displayed in their schools, as the result of legislation signed by Governor Edwards in June of this year.  At The Stream website, an article from Liberty Counsel states:

House Bill 8, signed into law by Governor John Bel Edwards in June 2023, amends Louisiana’s existing law which only required schools to display the motto in at least one location. The measure passed both the Louisiana House and Senate chambers without any votes cast in opposition.

Under the law, students are to receive instruction on “patriotic customs,” including teaching on the “In God We Trust” motto. To support this instruction, the law specifies that motto displays are to be “a poster or framed document that is at least 11 inches by 14 inches” and the motto must be “the central focus” of the display and be “printed in a large, easily readable font.”

The law, which does not require school districts to use their funds in order to post the motto, became effective earlier this month, meaning this year's students will be seeing the motto in schools in the state.  Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel said:

The display of our national motto ‘In God We Trust’ and teaching about it in schools educates children about our national history. America was founded upon Judeo-Christian values. The Declaration of Independence declares that our rights come from God, not government. Acknowledging this undeniable heritage is not only constitutional, it’s imperative to sustaining a collective memory of how our nation came to be. Now that the 1971 ‘Lemon Test’ has been overturned by the Supreme Court, religious symbols, words, displays, and viewpoints will have more breathing room.

Pastor, other Canadians to have charges dropped in light of COVID arrests

In Canada, a number of pastors in the country had run afoul of restrictions that were put in place during the COVID pandemic, which placed restrictions on churches' ability to worship.

One was Pastor James Coates of Gracelife Church in the Alberta province.  The CBC stated:

Pastor James Coates was charged in February 2021 after holding church services in breach of government-imposed public health measures, including restrictions on the number of people allowed at gatherings and physical distancing and masking requirements.

In an email to CBC News, prosecutor Karen Thorsrud confirmed she will not call further evidence in the cases against Coates or his church, Gracelife, and will "invite the court to acquit both defendants of all charges."

The CBC article opened by stating:

Albertans still facing charges for breaking pandemic-related laws are off the hook after a court decision ruled the province's health orders were invalid because they breached the Public Health Act.

The move follows a court decision issued three weeks ago which found politicians made the final decision on the province's pandemic-related health restrictions instead of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH), which isn't allowed under the Act.

Pastor Coates had been released from prison, but the charges were still pending - those will apparently go away this week.