Pastors, City Council Members Protest NYC's Ban of Church Services in Schools

December 18, 2011

More than 100 pastors, church members and legislators gathered on the steps of City Hall in New York City on Dec. 8 to protest the city's ban on churches renting public school rooms for evening or weekend services, WORLD News Service reports. Courts declared the ban legal, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused Dec. 5 to hear an appeal. City councilman Fernando Cabrera, also a Bronx pastor, is leading an effort to get the council to overturn the ban; his bill would prevent school districts from excluding groups from meeting on school property because their viewpoints include religious content. About 60 churches currently rent space in New York City public schools, and if the ban remains, they will all have to find other space by Feb. 12.