Faith-based Program vs. County Non-Discrimination Policy

The Star Tribune has a story this morning about a church that participated in a county-run program to feed seniors until it refused to serve a woman who was once a man:

As far as the Rev. John Maxfield could tell, everything was fine between his church and Anoka County until that Friday the 13th.

The county social services department was sending disabled seniors and other vulnerable adults needing care during the day to Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Francis. Trinity's members were bringing in hot dishes for lunch.

Then the county brought another client to the conservative Missouri Synod church: a woman who had begun life as a man.

The church refused to let her in. The county refused to send any more clients.

This is one of several problems with our current love-affair with faith-based programs. Many churches and religious non-profits have jumped at the chance to fund and expand their programs using government money. But this means they may be required to compromise some of their religious tenets in order to meet the requirements of government policies.

I also wonder what happens to the prophetic message of a church when it is feeding at the hand of a "power" that it often needs to be critiquing. On the other hand, it troubles me that the government is potentially funding programs that aim to proselytize participants. Its a sticky wicket all around.