STOP THE INSANITY
HERE IS OUR STORY: My name is Michael Salman and am a Pastor of the Christian faith and have been a Christian over 16 years. I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior after living a life of crime. I knew that I needed to change my life or else I would find myself in hell one day. I accepted Christ and He changed my life from the inside out. The day I accepted I promised Him that I would serve Him and give Him everything I have. Since that day I have been married and have 6 beautiful Children. My wife and I have a heart for the lost and a heart of service. Our home has always been open for the work of the Lord. We have helped families and people by always having our doors open.
My wife and I have held Bible Studies and worship in our home since 2002. We have had family and friends that we have met through work and other resources and have invited them to our home where we have worshipped and gathered in the Name of Jesus. In 2005 we had been blessed by having a large home and property. We knew that this would be a great place to raise a familya nd live our faith according tot he Bible. We bagan having Bible Studies and worship in our home every Thursday. We invited our neighbors who attended every Thursday at our home. We then moved our days to every Wednesday and Sunday. We continued worshipping together as Christ commands us in His word in my private home with family and friends who had been invited by us. Since our home was getting a little crowded we decided to build a 2000 square foot accessory building in the back that would be able to serve our family needs. We then moved the worship from our living room and dedicated that building for worship. We then began worshipping in the building in my backyard. (BTW: We do have permits for the building as an Accessory Building.) After meeting in the building for a couple of months we got raided by the Phoenix Police Department and violated for operating an A3 structure without a building. In Plain terms: Because we use the building for Bible Studies no matter home many people are there it is considered religious and our whole property must conform to become a "Church". It is O.K. if we gathered for non-religious usages but as long as we gathered religiously we had broken the law.
Now the City had a choice on how to proceed. They could do this civil or criminal. The City felt that it was their duty to violate me Criminally. After debating with the City that the violations were a discrimination and violated my civil rights the Court found me guilty and sentenced me to $12,000 in fines, 3 years probation and 60 Days in Jail. We could not believe our ears. Since when was it O.K. for a City to discriminate against religious gatherings. The City of Phoenix was wrong and their actions are a complete violation of our rights.
Since then we had filed a Lawsuit in the Federal Court which was dismissed because our current case with the City is in the State Court on Appeal. If I can not find relief in the State Court I will be permitted to file suit in the Federal Court. We feel it is our Duties as Christians and as Americans to defend and fight for our Constitutional Rights. No City should have the power to tell those who gather for religious purpose it is not permitted, while people gather for their book clubs, Boy Scouts, Amway and Red Hat meets without consequences. Such actions by a City is a violation and should be dealt with it according to the Law.
If we are wrong I will be proud to go to Jail for Jesus Christ. I have never hurt anyone in my actions. Those who come to my home have NEVER parked in the street, NEVER caused a traffic issue, NEVER caused excessive noise and NEVER caused any concern for Safety or Health concerns. We live on a Arterial Street in which over 2500 cars pass in front of my home on a daily basis. We live across the street from a park. We meet every Sunday at 10:00 am by invitation only.* If you look at the map below it would be obvious that our home is large enough to accompany our guest. People have the right to gather privately in their home and so should we!
Would you like to help us fight? We need as much support as possible. You can call me at our Ministry Office at 602-299-9217
Or Send Donations To Our Offices at:
Harvest Christian Fellowship - 3003 W. Northern Phoenix, Arizona 85051
*The Meetings at the home of Pastor Michael Salman are not connected to HCF. The Home is not a Church open for the public but it is the private residence of the Pastor and those who come to the Pastors home are there by invitation only.
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