Brandon woman rebuked by her church for criticizing city

[CHIMO]

Brandon woman rebuked by her church for criticizing city
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 | 3:35 PM CT
CBC News

A Brandon, Man., resident has been asked by her church to keep her criticism of city officials to herself, or worship somewhere else.

Deborah Boschman wrote a letter to the Brandon Sun newspaper recently, entitled "City Needs New Ideas."

In the letter, she was critical of Mayor Dave Burgess and city councillors for not doing more to draw new residents and visitors to the city. She suggested Brandon build a waterslide or family theme park to draw in visitors.

But on Aug. 15, nearly a week after her letter was published, Boschman received a letter from her Pentecostal church, the Bethel Christian Assembly.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2006/08/22/brandon-church.html

[MrPrax]

1. Tax them...

If churches want to get involved directly in politics and political matters affecting a free and democratic society, then it's ONLY fair that they paid equally for that privilege. Not to do so, is discriminatory against all the other political players.

If religious people FEEL strongly enough about any issue, as is their right, then they can form exclusive political organizations and fall under the general rules that govern democracy and it's elections.

Now specifically, this is a church living off the avails of the good people of Brandon, yet seems NOT to want to help out the exciting prairie hotspot known as Brandon attract MORE revunue in order to pay for freeloaders like the Pentacostal church, Bethel Christian Assembly.

Progressives there might go and look at the city tax rates...caluclate how much the church owes and then go from there.

Clearly this woman's rights have been violated and clearly there is an attempt by this organization to censure through coercion and threat to act against a citizens' right to participate in the political process...which includes communicating to the community at large...it's called free speech.