All Saints Church Announces Challenge to IRS Summonses

Bacon said, "We have gathered and reviewed the most relevant of the documents requested by the summons. They fully support our position that we have always respected the IRS regulations against campaign intervention by unwaveringly adhering to the guidelines against campaign intervention. We are today defending our religious responsibilities to criticize any public policies that demean or destroy any member of the human family. Our faith demands that we say without fear or intimidation that every human life is sacred and that in God's eyes and heart every human life is equally precious. This calls us to speak to the issues of war and poverty, bigotry, torture, and all forms of terrorism. All Saints Church attempts to be faithful to these and other responsibilities of our faith always stopping short of supporting or opposing political parties or candidates for public office. Because these responsibilities are required by our faith, they are therefore constitutionally protected."

Bacon continued, "We are also here not for ourselves alone but to defend the freedom of pulpits in faith communities throughout our land. American pulpits in mosques, synagogues, temples, and churches must not cower from the responsibility to speak truth to power, including any and every expression of American exceptionalism that through policy and practice values American life above other life. All life is sacred to God. We are called by God's vision to turn the human race into the human family."

All Saints' Senior Warden, the lay leader of the church, Bob Long, said "All Saints has nothing to hide from the IRS. We came to this decision because we believe that these summonses intolerably infringe upon our Constitutional rights and the IRS regulations that embody those principles-namely, the First Amendment rights of this church to speak and worship freely-rights that are indispensable to this church and to faith communities throughout our great country. The IRS has drawn inferences that it does not like from the very words of our worship service and has demanded explanations. When faced with this affront to those essential rights, we simply have no choice but to stand firm.

"Only by challenging the summonses at this point in time can these fundamental issues be addressed by a court of law. Only by standing now can we protect ourselves from the chilling effect on our own First Amendment rights of free speech and free exercise of religion that these summonses represent, and also stand for churches, synagogues and mosques across the country who may find themselves in similar circumstances, but are less able or well-funded to make such a challenge.

"That is not to say that this challenge, as well as the many other steps we have already taken to respond properly and timely to the IRS investigation, does not stretch us financially-it does. It's expensive. It will require this parish to expend funds that would be far better spent on our ministries, community outreach and other programs. But we believe, strongly and emphatically, that if All Saints is to continue its long standing practice of speaking out to the issues of our day-speaking truth to power in the best of the prophetic and Gospel traditions about the core issues of our faith-we must take this step now."

Long continued, "This decision does not mean that All Saints will never provide the government with information it legitimately deserves-it just means that we have a moral responsibility to ensure that the IRS's request for the information is, in fact, legitimate. And we believe the only way to guarantee this is through the halls of justice. This gives us the opportunity to seek the Court's help in protecting our First Amendment rights of free speech and religion, and to call the IRS to task for failing to comply with its own regulations. Accordingly, we are asking our lawyers today to advise the IRS of our intention to challenge the IRS summons in a court of law and to prepare ourselves for that proceeding."

For information and copies of all correspondence relating to the IRS examination, and to schedule interviews with All Saints clergy, please contact Keith Holeman, All Saints' Director of Communications, at 626.583.2739 or kholeman@allsaints-pas.org.