Too Bad He Isn't a Catholic Priest

Another SoCal faith community files a lawsuit against a city for allgedly violating its rights under RLUIPA.

When his congregation withered to only 12 and the collection plate returned nearly empty, Pastor Andrew Derek Anunciation figured it was time for action.

For more than two years, his tiny congregation at Praise Christian Center has held services outdoors in a Huntington Beach industrial lot amid an ongoing dispute with City Hall.

Anunciation believes the city has been standing squarely in the way of moving the church into a converted warehouse by requiring numerous — and expensive — permits and upgrades.

"People have called me a radical and other names. But we feel like what we've been going through is a storm," Anunciation said.

"And we're not doing this just for our tiny church, but for other religious groups too."

The church filed a federal lawsuit in October, alleging, among other things, that the city was violating its religious freedom. This tack makes tiny Praise Christian part of a growing legal battle between church and state.

More than three dozen mega-churches, colleges and synagogues in the state are fighting government regulations and zoning laws that they feel violate the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.

The act is designed to give churches a tool for clearing away onerous government restrictions.