6 - We Gather Together: The Consequences of Religious Liberty

Summary

We gather together, to ask the Lord's blessing;

He hastens and chastens His will to make known.

The wicked oppressing, now cease from distressing.

Sing praise to His name; He forgets not his own.

– Traditional hymn

Eastridge christian assembly sits just outside the city limits of Issaquah, a growing suburban town in western Washington State. Like many of his fellow clergymen, Pastor Steve Jamison wants to grow his ministry to meet the demands of a rapidly expanding community of suburban families. This requires a larger church building. Unfortunately for the pastor, the county government has limited his ability to expand. Currently, the Eastridge Christian Assembly church building uses a septic system that limits the number of people who can use the facility at any given time and hence restricts the size of the church's physical structure. In order to get county permission to enlarge his building, Pastor Jamison needs a special permit to connect his facility to a sewer system. Unfortunately, county administrators have denied the church's request to hook up to a sewer line, despite the fact that a sewer pipe runs directly through an easement on the church's own property. What complicates the situation further is that the sewer running through the church's property is connected to a public school bus barn on the adjacent lot. Given that both buildings rest on unincorporated (rural) land, one might expect county permitting regulations to apply equally.