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All Saints Church Pasadena Demands Correction and Apology From the IRSIn response to a letter closing the two-year old IRS examination, All Saints Church, Pasadena announced today that it has formally referred the numerous procedural and legal errors of the exam to the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and demanded correction and an apology.
On September 10, the Church received a letter from the IRS that simultaneously closed the dormant examination—without challenge to the Church’s tax-exempt status and without the audit ever actually taking place —and concluded without explanation that the sermon in question constituted intervention in the 2004 Presidential election. All Saints Church’s Rector, the Rev. J. Edwin Bacon, Jr. expressed great concern about the IRS closing letter and its implications for freedom of the pulpit at All Saints Church...(read the entire press release)
Read the FULL TWO-YEAR STORY below and view the comprehensive list of documents and correspondence from the two-year examination: THE IRS GOES TO CHURCH Here are the approximately chronological details, correspondence to and from the IRS, and reactions of the national and local press to the IRS investigation of All Saints Church. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2004It all began with the Rev. George Regas’ sermon entitled “If Jesus Debated President Bush and Senator Kerry,” on October 31, 2004, two days before the presidential election.Click here to read the transcript of the sermon at issue, delivered on October 31, 2004 by Rector Emeritus George Regas.
ALL SAINTS DAY, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2005The IRS investigation was first made public in the rector’s announcement to the congregation on All Saints Sunday, November 6, 2005. All Saints’ longtime friend, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu preached from the pulpit on a day that was therefore both joyful and sad.
ED BACON'S FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE CONGREGATION ON NOV. 6, 2005:"The Internal Revenue Service has notified All Saints church that we are being examined for possible violation of our non-profit status. The IRS’s charge is campaign intervention. They have cited a sermon that our rector emeritus, George Regas, preached on the Sunday before the last presidential election. We have engaged a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in these matters."It is important for everyone to understand that the IRS’s concerns are not supported by the facts. George Regas’s sermon upheld the core values of this church as a Peace Church. We have been a self-identified Peace Church since a resolution was adopted by the Vestry in 1987. The sermon in question explicitly stated, “I don’t intend to tell you how to vote.” We at All Saints, of course, will continue from a nonpartisan perspective to teach and proclaim with vigor the core values of Christianity as we stand in the prophetic tradition of Jesus the peacemaker. This is our responsibility as followers of Christ and as Americans who claim our freedom of speech and freedom of religion. "We will have information available to everyone at church next Sunday. This information will be on our website this week. We will keep you informed at every turn. Pray for our church and pray for our country."
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE DOCUMENTS AND CORRESPONDENCE PERTINENT TO THE INVESTIGATION:The press release sent out by All Saints Church on Monday, Nov. 7, 2005. The comprehensive version of the original letter from the IRS, dated July, 2005, including all their questions to the church on page 3, and the original Los Angeles Times article that sparked the investigation. All Saints response to the IRS via counsel on October 11, 2005. A 1987 proclamation that All Saints Church is a peace and justice church. A 2005 Re-affirmation by All Saints’ Vestry that we have not and will not violate campaign intervention laws. The Los Angeles Times articles from November 7 and November 8, 2005, telling the world of the IRS investigation. Rep. Adam Schiff's good letter to the IRS and the Treasury Department, dated November 15, 2005. All Saints’ response to that helpful letter, dated November 16, 2005. Text of Ed Bacon's sermon from Sunday, Nov. 13, entitled "The IRS Goes To Church."
EIGHT MONTHS OF SILENCENovember, 2005 until July, 2006 was eight months of total silence from the IRS, despite attempts to reach them by phone, email and snail mail to enquire about the status of our investigation. All Saints sent a letter and 39 pages of supporting data to the IRS on 12/13/05, via counsel Marcus Owens in Washington, D.C. Click here to read the 12/13 letter and information sent and here to see 12/13’s press release. But nothing.
THE IRS RETURNSThen, in July, 2006, a letter finally arrived from the IRS, apologizing for the delay in getting back to us, and informing us that it was renewing and stepping up its investigation of the church. That letter included a list of 13 “requests” for documents and information from the church. All Saints then responded, through counsel, with a request that they put those requests in the form of an administrative summons so that we would retain our option of having the matter adjudicated by the courts. An uncontested compliance to the request for information would have amounted to waiving our right to take it to the courts. A month later, the agency called to say that an agent would deliver the summonses the next day. On Friday, September 15, 2006, All Saints Church and rector Ed Bacon received administrative summonses to appear before the IRS. For a complete rundown on the story from the original documents, please click on the links below. Read the 7/24/06 letter from the IRS to All Saints Church; All Saints held a Press Conference on 9/21 to announce that its Vestry had voted unanimously that morning to challenge the IRS Summonses, and therefore that All Saints and the rector would not comply with the summonses as requested, forcing the IRS to get the courts to rule on the validity of the case. The press conference was a remarkable show of interfaith solidarity, from which All Saints Solidarity Membership was born.
THE RECTOR TALKED TO THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT ON NPR’S “WEEKEND AMERICA”Host Barbara Bogaev interviewed rector Ed Bacon and Russell Johnson, pastor of the conservative Fairfield Christian Church in Ohio, about IRS probes at both churches; and talked about their political and religious differences and common ground. It was originally aired on Saturday, Mar. 4, 2006, and now you can hear it by CLICKING HERE (then click on "Politics and the Pulpit," click on SAVE in the box that pops up -- it will save it to your computer and you can listen anytime; requires RealPlayer [free]).
ED BACON WAS INTERVIEWED ON LEHRER'S “NEWSHOUR”Friday, Feb. 3, 2006's Newshour included Jeffrey Kaye's interview with Ed in a segment called "Taxing Sermons." Click here to see the piece on the PBS website.
NPR’S ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, AIRED AN IN-DEPTH REPORTabout whether or not religious speech is free in America -- including a section about churches and the IRS -- on December 16, 2005. Listen to it on the "All Things Considered" website.
MANY OF THE NATION’S LEADING NEWSPAPER’S PRINTED EDITORIALS SUPPORTING ALL SAINTS IN 2005:New York Times, Tuesday, Nov. 22 The Chicago Sun-Times, Nov. 22 The Washingtion Times, Monday, Nov. 14 The Miami Herald, Friday, Nov. 11 Dallas Morning News, Friday, Nov. 11 Seattle Times, Friday, Dec. 2 Pasadena Star News, Friday, Dec. 2 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Wednesday, Nov. 9 The Christian Century, Tuesday, Nov. 29  It is important that we be able to preach our core moral values. That's the compass and lifeblood of any church. It is not necessary to endorse any candidate or party. Americans MUST be able to speak freely within the confines of the law -- be free to disagree without fear -- and still love each other. When was disagreement determined to be unhealthy? That has always been what distinguished America from other parts of the world -- and made us special. Like they say, there is no harmony if everyone's singing the same note. We are humbled by and grateful for all your heartfelt support. Love and Peace.
SOLIDARITY MEMBERSHIPMake out your check to "All Saints Church" and send it to 132 North Euclid Ave., Pasadena, CA. 91101. Please also indicate "All Saints Defense Fund" or "Solidarity Membership" in the memo space. For more information on "Solidarity Membership" please email solidarity@allsaints-pas.org and write "Solidarity Membership" in the subject line. To print out a Solidarity Membership form (or copy/paste, fill it in on the computer and email it to us), please click here. Thank you so much for your overwhelming support and encouragement. |
All Saints Church
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132 North Euclid Avenue - Pasadena, CA (626) 796-1172 |
