The Covington County Commission in Andalusia, Ala., voted unanimously Nov. 6 to rescind a $3,000 donation of taxpayer funds to the Covington Baptist Association for a men's ministry whose purpose was "to get more men to church."
The vote was in response to an Oct. 27 complaint letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation protesting the flagrant constitutional violation.
FFRF, a national state/church watchdog with more than 21,500 members nationwide, represents more than 200 Alabama members as well as its longest-lived chapter, the Alabama Freethought Association.
Katherine Paige, FFRF legal fellow, sent the commission a second complaint letter Nov. 7 after learning that Commissioner Harold Elmore might ask to renew the grant to the ministry under the guise of funding building renovations.
Paige investigated property records and learned that Elmore was an incorporator of the Judson Baptist Church, which owns the building (sometimes referred to as the "Old Stanley School" or the "Stanley Community Center") and runs the ministry. Elmore serves as church deacon and is one of the Covington Baptist Association's four trustees.
"The commission cannot escape the grant's religious purpose and Commissioner Elmore's involvement raises serious ethical concerns under Alabama law," wrote Paige.
"The grant had, and would still have, a religious purpose: funding a Christian men's ministry," said Paige. During the Oct. 8 commission meeting when the faith grant was approved, Elmore was asked if the ministry was for Baptists only. He replied, "No, it's just a men's ministry. If any denomination wants to attend, we don't even claim to be a denomination, that's what it's for, just trying to get folks to accept the Lord."
Any further donation would be "tainted with the religious purpose of the first grant and the men's ministry," FFRF noted.
"Alabama law prohibits public officials from using their official position to obtain personal gain for themselves or for any business with which they are associated," said Paige.
FFRF also resubmitted a records request, which it had dropped after learning the grant had been rescinded.
"The Covington Baptist Association and the Judson Baptist Church are free to conduct their men's ministry, but the government may not support or fund it or their buildings," concluded FFRF's letter. "We assume this matter is dropped, but in the event the commission chooses to readdress the issue and provide support for this ministerial endeavor, FFRF will be inclined, at the very least, to submit an official complaint with the Alabama Ethics Commission."