Temporary Injunction Saves Church Services In School Gym

A South Carolina federal district judge has granted a temporary injunction to the members of Gracepointe (Southern Baptist) Church, ordering Woodland High School in Dorchester, SC to continue renting its gymnasium to the group for Sunday services pending trial in a lawsuit filed by the Church. The Church has rented the gym for Sunday services at the rate of $250 per week since August 2005. The school has asked the Church to leave, saying that the rental arrangement was never intended to be a long-term one and that the Church is being subsidized through below-market rent. Yesterday's Charleston Post and Courier reports that Judge David Norton's ruling says that the school district's rental policy distributed to community groups says nothing about time limits for renting facilities and all community groups get the same low rental fee.