Religious Left

by Amy Wooten Windy City Times Chicago In order to further boost LGBT inclusion, the leaders of nearly a dozen North Side United Church of Christ ( UCC ) churches are putting their heads together. While hundreds of UCC churches and ministries have gone one step beyond saying they are welcoming to LGBT folks by officially and publicly declaring to be open and affirming ( ONA ) , this cluster of North Side ONA UCC churches wants to take it a step further. A consortium of North Side UCC ONA churches, which includes several with openly gay and lesbian leaders, started meeting to reassess their participation in the local queer community. They wish to re-evaluate where these area churches are now and what should be done next. full article

The story centers on Obama’s General Synod speech prompts IRS to investigate UCC’s tax-exempt status , which is posted at the UCC’s own Web site. The Internal Revenue Service has notified the United Church of Christ’s national offices in Cleveland, Ohio, that the IRS has opened an investigation into U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s address at the UCC’s 2007 General Synod as the church engaging in “political activities.” In the IRS letter dated Feb. 20, the IRS said it was initiating a church tax inquiry “because reasonable belief exists that the United Church of Christ has engaged in political activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status.” “The United Church of Christ took great care to ensure that Senator Obama’s appearance before the 50th anniversary General Synod met appropriate legal and moral standards,” Thomas told United Church News. “We are confident that the IRS investigation will confirm that no laws were violated.” The Internal Revenue Service’s letter to the UCC alleges ...