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STATEMENT

Indiana Civil Liberties Union lawsuit and Religious Freedom Issues
ICLU files suit on behalf of family in United Church of God

LOWELL , Indiana – In June 2005, the Indiana Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) filed a lawsuit on behalf of United Church of God member Ruth Scheidt and her son against the Tri-County School Corporation in Lowell.

Mrs. Scheidt's son attended the Church's Feast of Tabernacles religious observance in the fall of 2004, and regardless of giving prior notice of the Festival dates, Mrs. Scheidt's son was given "unexcused" absences while he was taking part in the annual observance. Under Tri-County school policy, a student with an "unexcused" absence is prohibited from making up any academic work assigned during that period, which penalizes the student.

Mrs. Scheidt's son was notified that he faced possible school expulsion after returning from observing the eight-day biblical Festival in 2004. The U.S. Justice Department had begun a review of the school's policy and certain issues of religious accommodation before the ICLU filed its lawsuit.

The United Church of God seeks to strongly embrace and mirror the historical activities of Jesus Christ and the first-century Christian Church.

The Bible and authoritative historical accounts both record that Jesus Himself observed the Feast of Tabernacles, and there exist numerous references that the apostles and first-century Church members followed Christ's example in observing this and other biblical days of worship.

Each fall, thousands of United Church of God families, including public school educators and administrators who are Church members, travel to designated sites to observe the annual Festival of Tabernacles (commonly referred to by Church members as "The Feast of Tabernacles" or simply "the Feast"), emulating the example of Jesus. While the United Church of God is not directly involved in the ICLU lawsuit, the Church is spiritually supportive of Mrs. Scheidt and her son in exercising their protected rights under the U.S. Constitution.

"In its modern history, the Church has occasionally faced misunderstandings about its observance of the religious festivals outlined in the Bible," said Roy Holladay, president of the United Church of God. "We understand that this was the case in the Indiana middle school where the observance of the Feast has unfortunately become an issue. We trust and pray that this situation will be resolved amicably, with respect for the religious freedom of our members."

Legal counsel for the United Church of God has pointed out that in addition to the rights of free exercise of religion guaranteed by the 1st and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as equal protection, due process and other statutory rights which bar religious discrimination, positive adjudication in case law also exists that directly supports the right of students in the Church to be allowed excused absences from their school in order to observe the Feast of Tabernacles as well as other Holy Days and religious activities as taught by the Bible and the United Church of God.

These religious activities include days of worship that are outlined in the book of Leviticus and the New Testament. Three basic seasons of special worship are outlined in the Bible: The Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Pentecost and the Festival of Tabernacles. Respectively, they typically occur in the spring, early summer and fall.

"As part of the Church's commitment to follow the example of the first-century Church, we keep these days, even though they are essentially nontraditional in today's age and not largely observed by other religious organizations," Holladay said.

This same commitment leads members of the United Church of God to observe a seventh-day Sabbath on Saturday as Christ did.

Holladay pointed out that from a biblical perspective, the Festival of Tabernacles pictures the coming time when Jesus will return to earth and directly rule the world for 1,000 years. "As the Feast of Tabernacles represents a coming time of unprecedented harmony and peace, we conduct this annual eight-day event with a strong family focus," Holladay explained. Accordingly, members and families take part in daily Church services and a whole range of positive family-based activities throughout the Festival.

The Church teaches that members are to be respectful of the laws governing the society they live in. "However, while we live in a country that espouses religious freedom, we know from experience that some schools may not be familiar with the biblical Holy Day seasons as we practice them," Holladay explained.

He continued: "As part of showing suitable respect for individual school policies, we strongly encourage parents to proactively communicate and collaborate with the schools that their children attend." As appropriate, the Church provides a formal letter explaining the Feast and why children will not be attending school during the brief fall festival season.

The Church encourages parents to contact their children's teachers and administrators in advance of the biblical festivals that may require a school absence. This helps minimize misunderstandings and to obtain assignments and other information.

"This way Church children don't fall behind in academics while they are briefly absent from school to observe the biblical Festivals with their families," Holladay related.

The Church president also noted that the vast majority of teachers and administrators are "very cooperative across the United States" in helping students prepare for their brief absences to observe the biblical festivals.

Additional information about the United Church of God and the Holy Days that the Church observes can be found at the Church's Web site: www.ucg.org.

About the United Church of God, an International Association: Basing its beliefs on the biblical practices of the original 1st Century Church, the United Church of God maintains congregations in more than 40 countries around the world. Following the recorded example of Jesus Christ and the first apostles, the Church observes a seventh day Sabbath and the annual Holy Day seasons as outlined in the Old and New Testaments. The main offices of the Church are located in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information about the Church's beliefs and activities, please visit www.ucg.org.