Saturday, April 23, 2005

Ministers urge cancellation of 'Justice Sunday'

A group of ministers representing about 17 Baptist churches in the Louisville area and a national Baptist committee that supports separation of church and state yesterday called on a Louisville church to cancel its planned "Justice Sunday" tomorrow.
"We see 'Justice Sunday' as part of a larger effort to link church and state in ways not seen in America since the Puritans were hanging Quakers on Boston Commons and exiling Baptists to Rhode Island," the Rev. Joe Phelps, pastor of Highland Baptist Church, said during a news conference yesterday.
But there are no plans to cancel the event, said the Rev. Kevin Ezell, senior pastor of Highview Baptist Church, where the national Christian telecast will be based.
"I don't know Joe Phelps," Ezell said in a telephone interview. "He's never called me. The biggest story here is that he wants to be on TV, he wants to be in the paper. He needs to spend more time reaching people than criticizing other churches."

No comments: