Worshipers Kicked Out Of N.Y. School On Principle
by FRED MOGUL
For years, small churches have been meeting in New York City public schools. Some want cheap rental space, and others are part of a "church planting" movement. The idea is to "plant" congregations, often in unconventional settings, to attract the unaffiliated.
A federal court last year ruled that these school gatherings violate the separation of church and state. The congregations now have one week left to vacate.
The Bible tells of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years, before entering the Promised Land. On a recent Sunday, Pastor Jon Storck joked that he envied the Israelites' mobile temple, called the Tabernacle.
"It's too bad we don't have a transportable worship area," Storck told Grace Fellowship Church, during a sermon about the superiority of faith and grace over bricks, mortar and other worldly attachments.
Grace Fellowship has been gathering at PS-150 in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, N.Y.,
