Washington Sate: A homeless shelter run by “Christians” in the Seattle, Washington area The Yakima Union Gospel Mission has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that its First Amendment rights to hire “likeminded” individuals who share their biblical mission about only hiring those who practice sexual purity in marriage has been violated.
Specifically, the organization hires only those who support its biblical mission of “spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter, addiction-recovery programs, outreach efforts, meal services, and health clinics for the Yakima community.”
The shelter will be represented by the extreme right-wing anti-LGBT group Alliance Defending Freedom . The lawsuit objects to the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which prohibits sexual orientation discrimination in employment and argues that the defendants “view the Mission’s Christian behavior requirement on marriage and sexuality as unlawful sexual orientation discrimination under the WLAD.”
State officials have allegedly “[threatened] the mission with significant penalties for using its religiously based hiring practices.”
And of course. The Yakima Union Gospel Mission is a 501c3 tax exempt non-profit. EIN. 23-705006
I could be wrong, but they can hire whomever they want provided they don’t take federal, state, or local government dollars. If they need government money or subsidies to run their shelter, then they have to abide by all non-discrimination laws.
This is pure craziness and it proves my point that I’ve expressed over these years growing up in Yakima. I myself along with some family members use to be on the leadership team at the Union Gospel mission and we helped and facilitated many activities that spread hope,love into our community. BUT that’s when GOD was present and the foundation behind everything. When Roger Phillips Sr. and his son Roger, and Bob & Linda Harris were in charge of the mission and youth center boy I tell you Us low income poverty troubled children had hope and learned what faith is shoot I gave my life over to God and became a Christian at the age 10 at the Mission. I could go on and on about how at my current age of 44 I’ve witnessed God slip away from being the core purpose at the mission and what us as Christians should be actively doing and it’s sickening to my soul to see such greed,segregation and hypocritical behavior just false representation of who God is and what its like to be a part of God’s family. I had a roller-coaster life and I am a sinner but what I do know is I serve a HUGE GOD who is forgiving and HE himself sat amongst us sinners and thieves etc.
Look when Jesus returns he will start first in his churches and on that day of judgment they’ll be no pleading or time for repentance. The time and hour is now. @ the Mission> I pray for ya’ll because your ways are not God’s way and you are hiding behind God’s face and using the word for selfish reasons, you will be accountable. I wish I could help in some way.
Is the mission a 501(c)3 or a 501(c)4?
This difference is a bit crucial.
501 C 3