Leaders from a Bronx church banned from holding its worship services in a public school on weekends vowed last week to appeal a federal court’s judgment against them.
Robert Hall, a co-leader of the evangelical, 85-member Bronx Household of Faith, says his church is being unfairly singled out because of its beliefs since community groups are permitted to use the space.
“We live in the community and we’re part of this community, and we have been since the beginning of his church,” he said. The church, which bills itself as an “inner-city conservative congregational church,” began in the University Heights living room of founder Jack Roberts.
During the past five years, the church has conducted Sunday morning services out of Public School 291/Middle School 15 at 2195 Andrews Ave., across from where its new church will be finished next year.
“Religious discussion is allowed in groups meeting after school hours, and religious instruction is allowed in school, but religious worship is not,” said Hall, interpreting the city’s initiative to remove prayer from the school facilities.
Theirs is just one of two dozen religious groups citywide to conduct worship services inside public schools on weekends.
In 1995, the congregation, which had rented the school in the past for a variety of events in which prayers often take place, sued the city for the right to conduct services inside the school.
If the district courts maintain the decision to ban religious worship at schools, future activities may be subject to state review before obtaining the space.
“The state would tell us, ‘Yes, this is worship’ [or] ‘No, this is not.’ That’s a prohibition of the First Amendment from the reverse direction,” Hall said. “Our contention is the state is not competent to do that.”
Apparently, judges in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t feel competent to even rule on it.
On the three-judge panel, one ruled in favor of the church, one in favor of the city and one - Judge John Walker - wrote, “None of us who are judges are competent to offer a legal definition of worship.”
The case may reach the U.S. Supreme Court after the July 2 determination, which passes the case to a lower court to untangle.
“We’re being singled out, and not only that, there is a real inconsistency here,” said Hall, who asserted the same legal questions could be applied to the “publicly endorsed” Khalil Gibran International Academy, a new school in Brooklyn that will educate students about Islamic culture and Arabic.
“You cannot separate Arabic culture from Islam. Here we are in the fall, ready to have a publicly funded religious school. We think that’s very inconsistent.”
“The [Academy] is not a vehicle for religious ideology and will not offer religious instruction,” said Department of Education spokesperson Melody Myers.
