The Bronx church at the center a nearly 20-year lawsuit against the Department of Education held services Sunday for the first time since a court ruling upheld the city’s right to ban religious services from public school buildings.
The Bronx Household of Faith church held regular mass at P.S. 15 in University Heights.
Since 1995, the church has been challenging the DOE for the right to worship in the school.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has generally been in favor of allowing religious groups to use schools. His predecessor was not.
However, de Blasio has not said if and when he will implement the ruling.
Robert Hall, the church’s co-pastor, said they will soon have a new home anyway.
“We don’t want to stay in the schools permanently. We’ve never wanted to, and we have our building just across the street here that’s almost completed, and we expect to be moving into the building soon,” Hall said. “So we’re sad but we’re not wringing our hands. That’s the mood.”
“It’s more than just us. It’s for all the other churches in the city to be able to worship on a Sunday and have a space to worship at,” said one churchgoer.
Meanwhile, supporters of the ruling say it rightly upholds the constitutional separation of church and state.
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