Please pray for CLA staff as they help a church in OHIO that is trying to keep Biblical prayer before public school football games.

Praise the Lord that CLA attorneys were able to help a church in LOUISIANA with the correct legal documentation and paperwork for accepting a gift of equipment to help the church.

Pray for CLA attorneys as they advise pastors in OKLAHOMA who were arrested for using their constitutional right to street preach in a free speech zone during a gay pride parade.

Pray as CLA attorneys legally help a church in MISSOURI that is now being told they owe back-taxes for the church property.

Pray for CLA as attorneys advise a church in CALIFORNIA being told they must now pay back-taxes on property that was donated to the church to use.

Praise the Lord that CLA was able to help a new church in TEXAS in finding the insurance they need to have to protect the church.

Please pray as CLA attorneys legally assist a church in MICHIGAN that is planning to start a Christian school.

Please pray for a child in ALASKA that is being told she cannot bring her Bible to her public school to share her favorite story during story time, while other children may bring any stories they choose to bring.

Please pray as CLA attorneys assist a church in FLORIDA that has been unjustly given a safety complaint from their neighbors.

Please pray for CLA attorneys legally advising a man in NEW MEXICO who was fired for sharing his faith during his personal time in the secular workplace.

Please pray for CLA’s legal team as we assist a church in NEW JERSEY desiring their city to allow them to do Bible clubs in public parks.

Praise the Lord that CLA attorneys were able to help a homeschooling family in TENNESSEE who had questions about their right to homeschool their children.

Please pray as CLA’s legal team stands with a church in SOUTH DAKOTA under attack for its stand against same-sex marriage.

Please pray as CLA attorneys legally assist a public school in SOUTH CAROLINA as the government is trying to force the school to remove the Ten Commandments from the school.

Praise the Lord that CLA’s legal team was able to assist a pastor in OREGON who called our office asking what he could say about the Bible while teaching a public school class.

As we travel across America, we can easily see many ways in which God has blessed us. Churches may gather together and

worship God freely. Our founding document, the Constitution of the United States, allows a protection to freely exercise your faith in this country. Many states would not ratify the entire document unless that right was expressly written in as an amendment.

Churches are being started, revivals are taking place, and throughout our nation, God’s people are standing in the gap for America. Our cases continue to allow freedom for your Biblical faith in our country the way the founders envisioned us to have it. God commands us to share our faith. It is our duty to perform that task. In the United States, we have the ability to tell others of the Gospel message in a way that believers in other nations do not. God has allowed us to live and witness for Him in a country that does not persecute against Christianity. What a privilege we have to serve Him in America!

In light of the privilege He has allowed for each of us, we ought to take advantage of this opportunity. Remember, God has commanded us to share our faith with others. What does the Law of the Land say?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This First Amendment allows for no government intrusion into the free exercise of our Biblical faith.

by Dr, David C. Gibbs, Jr.

If you have questions about legal matters in ministry or have questions about your religious liberty, call our office at 1.888.CLA.1969

While we travel this country, we are winning legal cases. We don’t charge for our legal services, and God has blessed in multiple ways. The cases are being won, and you continue to have a right to share your faith, but let me challenge you to do it. Leave a tract, share a word of testimony, and give the Gospel as a witness and be an ambassador for Christ in your community.

Remember, it is your reasonable service to follow God’s commands in Scripture. By sharing Christ with others, you are showing them the love of God and giving them the best news of their lives. All across America, lives are being changed because we have the legal freedom to give the Gospel to others. It is our duty and privilege to share God’s message with those around us.

Your Legal Missionary,

Dr. Gibbs studies on an airplane while traveling for the ministry.

more than what is referred to in the law as “de minimus” (trivial).

Employers are becoming increasingly more hostile to employee’s religious beliefs, especially when it comes to an

employee’s conviction not to work on Sundays. The law requires that an employer with 15 or more employees provide what is called a religious accommodation for employees who have religious convictions against a job requirement, such as a conviction that they are required to attend church on Sundays or they are required not to perform work on Sundays.

In order for an employee to claim the legal right to be accommodated in his religious beliefs under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq.), two preliminary steps must be taken.

• First of all, the law requires that the employee have a sincerely held religious belief that his religion requires him, to be in church on Sundays and/or not to work on Sundays.

• Secondly, that the employer is put on notice as to the employee’s religious conviction and need for

an accommodation. Generally, it is best if this notice is given to the employer in writing.

Once the employer has been given that notice, the employer is not free to disregard its employee’s religious conviction. Instead, the employer (if it employs 15 or more employees) is legally required to accommodate the religious conviction to be in church on Sundays or not to perform work on Sundays. Several court cases have addressed this specific issue. In one case, the court held that the law makes it “an unlawful employment practice… for an employer not to make reasonable accommodations, short of undue hardship, for the religious practices of his employees and prospective employees.” TWA v. Hardison, 432 U.S. 63, 74 (1977).

The only exception an employer can use to deny accommodation of a sincerely held religious belief is if it can prove that granting the accommodation will cause an undue burden on the company. There must be specific evidence of an actual hardship on the company, not just speculation on the part of the employer that hardship might occur. The hardship must be

not practice this principle, your case will not proceed to the second step or beyond.

If you have found yourself in a position in which you are being required to work on Sunday in violation of your sincerely held religious belief, our attorneys would be honored and count it a privilege to assist you.

Conclusion

Although much case law has been settled for decades, new issues continue to arise in our nation. Our founding fathers never anticipated these new issues, and legal precedents for some are just now being set. As we give legal counsel to pastors, teachers, parents, public and private workers, as well as many others who contact our office with these pressing issues, we must remember that God is over all things.

• If there is no undue burden on the company, the employer is required to take any reasonable step necessary to accommodate the employee.

The employee is likewise required to act reasonably in attempting to resolve the matter by taking any reasonable steps to minimize the impact of the accommodation on the employer. In other words, both sides are required to work together to ensure the accommodation disrupts the workplace as little as possible while still preserving the employee’s religious convictions.

If an employee is not accommodated in his religious belief, he may file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity agency in the state where he is employed.

Remember, the first step is that you must have a sincerely held religious belief before an accommodation is required. If you state that you believe you should attend church on Sunday or not work on Sunday, but you do

Reverend Steve KluthCLA Director of Ministry Outreach

complications as changes in the law and opposition arise. Just as we have stood with churches facing difficulty and questions in the past, our ministry will be there in the future to assist and stand with God’s people! Most importantly, remember His Word, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” While CLA will continue to help your pastor and ministry, God defends and loves his church! He is in control!

Our desire is to help you with your Biblical stand in America. We do not charge for legal services, and we want to enable God’s people to practice their faith without obstruction or persecution. If you work in a place where they have instructed you not to talk about Jesus Christ, feel free to contact our office and speak with one of our attorneys at no charge.

Whether you need legal counsel for an issue that has come up, or you need prayer about a situation you are dealing with, our ministry is here for you. Call us today if we can help you at 1.888.CLA.1969.

Congratulations to the Class of

2 0 1 3Many thousands of students graduated from Christian school this spring thanks to you! As you stood with us, we were able to work with Christian schools across America to help resolve the legal conflicts that were waged this past school year against their ministries.

From the very beginning of our ministry, Christian Law Association stood with parents to win the right for schools to exist in their states, and win the freedom for parents to educate their children according to their beliefs. Today the attacks come in varying forms from frivolous lawsuits to state opposition, but God has helped us to overwhelmingly win. This year your support made the difference in the life of many students.

Class of 2013, we congratulate you on your accomplishments and will continue to pray for you as you follow the Lord’s leading in your life and redeem the sacrificial investments made for your future. May God richly bless you!

Will the IRS “Target” Our Church?

With recent reports of the Internal Revenue Service making strategic attacks on certain types of charities, people are becoming fearful. Will my beloved church be next? While there is no excuse for inappropriate scrutiny from any branch of the government, we need not fear! The legal missionaries at the Christian Law Association have been helping ministries deal with IRS related tax issues for decades.

Churches have faced difficulties in the past and will continue to face questions and

Shaylen KrausDaughter of CLA Attorney Seth Kraus

Happy Father’s Day!

Can you shareyour faithat work?