The IRS has granted a three-week extension for the United Church of Christ to respond to an investigation the agency has begun because presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke at the denomination’s 50th anniversary conference in Hartford, Connecticut, last summer.
The original IRS letter of Feb. 20 set a 15-day response window, however, the UCC was granted the extension on Feb. 28, according to attorney Donald C. Clark, the UCC’s Nationwide Special Counsel.
“Given the extensive amount of information documenting the steps taken by the UCC to be in compliance with permissible restrictions on those addressing the gathering of the faithful at General Synod, we obtained a three-week extension of time to respond to the IRS inquiry,” Clark told United Church News.
Even as the IRS continues its investigation, the Rev. John H. Thomas said the UCC will not shirk from its longstanding tradition of advocating for justice as a fundamental tenet of UCC faith and witness.
The Hartford Courant reports on the investigation:
The UCC is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, which wrote the Cleveland-ba)sed denomination saying that it might have jeopardized its tax-exempt status when it allowed Obama to speak before about 10,000 church members at its 50th anniversary celebration last summer.
The church has denied any violations, and the IRS refused to discuss the matter Wednesday. But the question at the heart of the investigation is whether any aspects of Obama’s visit — from the words he used, to the presence of campaign workers outside the building — violated IRS rules governing the appearance of political figures at religious events.
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly reports:
…as a young community organizer, he visited Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and became deeply influenced by its pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
Sen. OBAMA (at UCC speech): He introduced me to someone named Jesus Christ, and I learned that my sins could be redeemed.
LAWTON: Obama has been a member of Trinity UCC for more than 20 years.
Dr. ALLEN HERTZKE (Professor of Political Science and Director of Religious Studies University of Oklahoma): I think what’s interesting is Barack Obama is a quintessential mainline Protestant, because he comes out of the United Church of Christ.
LAWTON: But that, too, has been a point of controversy. In June 2007, Obama, an announced presidential candidate, addressed the UCC’s 50th anniversary General Synod meeting. On Monday (February 25), UCC leaders received notice of an IRS investigation into whether that speech was a violation of tax regulations that could jeopardize the denomination’s tax-exempt status. UCC officials insist they did nothing improper and noted that Obama campaign tables were kept outside the arena on a public sidewalk.
Meanwhile, for the past year, the 9,000-member Trinity UCC has come under fire from conservative bloggers and pundits who raise concerns about Pastor Wright’s politics. Wright is retiring as Trinity’s head pastor. He’s been an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq and a strong critic of Israeli policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank.
The Hartford Courant editorializes:
The church went to great pains to keep campaign workers, buttons and banners outside the center. But the UCC couldn’t stop Mr. Obama from a little campaigning in an eloquent but innocuous speech on the role of faith in public life. His few “my first term as president”-type slips were not great enough to warrant the IRS threat that followed eight months later.
A letter sent this week to the church questioned whether “political activities” at the conference “could jeopardize” the UCC’s tax exemption. Isn’t that a bit excessive? The IRS should be policing nonprofits suspected of funneling money from donors skirting contribution limits, not stifling speech at houses of worship.
The inquiry’s timing is curious, coming months after the event but at the moment when the senator is emerging as the front-runner.
All Saint’s Episcopal Church in Pasedena, California, was similarly investigated by the IRS starting in 2005 until the charges were dropped in 2007.
The United Church of Christ has an extensive list of the multiple news stories that the investigation has generated.
The UCC news release may be found here.