2,000-plus Scrooges in Berkley, Michigan

They just wanted to take our nativity away. – Georgia Halloran

By a 55 to 45 percent margin, residents voted no on allowing a nativity scene to return to the lawn outside their City Hall Tuesday.

Church and State

This from FOX News:

Voters in Berkley, Mich., turned down an amendment to the city charter on Tuesday that would have allowed a nativity scene to return to the lawn outside their City Hall.

The charter amendment failed by a 55 to 45 percent margin with 4,136 votes cast in total, according to unofficial results from the city clerk’s office.

Some residents of the town of more than 15,000 were outraged that the city and a local clergy association cut a deal with the American Civil Liberties Union to move a crèche, which had been displayed on public property for about 25 years, away from government grounds and onto a patch of grass outside a church.

The display spent its first Christmas at its new location last year, but those who want to return the nativity scene to public property petitioned to get the measure on Tuesday’s general election ballot.

“They didn’t try to resolve it; they just wanted to take our nativity away,” said Georgia Halloran, 62, who has led the drive to return the crèche to its former location. “People are very upset that the ACLU came in and told us to get rid of our nativity and the city capitulated to them.”

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Senator’s Letter Includes Questions About White’s Possible Use of Church Money for Homes, Cosmetic Surgery

While more news of a government probe into the “Big 6″ televangelists for alleged tax-exempt donation abuse is still breaking, The Tampa Tribune is filling in more details about the inquiry into Paula White.

White, recently divorced from her husband Randy, remains as the leader of Without Walls International Church and Paula White Ministries.

This from the Tribune:

Letters were faxed Monday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, requesting ministry leaders respond by Dec. 6 to a wide range of questions regarding their personal and organizational finances. The senator expects full cooperation, he said in a statement released by his staff.

And…

In a five-page letter to Randy and Paula White, Grassley asked for detailed information on 28 areas of church and personal finances, mainly from the years 2004 to present. Some of those include:

• A detailed explanation of the compensation paid to the Whites, as well as cash and noncash gifts, housing allowances and personal use of assets.

• A detailed list of any expenses paid for by their church or ministries toward the purchases and monthly maintenance of their residences on Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, and in New York, San Antonio and Malibu, Calif.

• Credit card statements for expenses paid by the Whites’ tax-exempt entity, including a list of all expense account items such as clothing and cosmetic surgery.

• A list of all domestic and overseas bank accounts and investments belonging to their organizations.

• A list of all vehicles purchased, leased or maintained by their tax-exempt organizations.

• Copies of flight records of any aircraft leased or owned by their ministries, as well as flight itineraries for both the Whites.

• A copy of the bill of sale, type of payment used and an explanation of the reported tax-exempt purchase of a Bentley convertible as a gift for Bishop T.D. Jakes.

• A detailed accounting of $871,000 worth of items reportedly sold to the church since 2005 by two of the private businesses owned by the Whites, and an explanation as to who determined that the church would purchase these items.

• An explanation of who determines how the funds of Without Walls and Paula White Ministries are spent, copies of all board minutes and whether any of the decisions, both operational and financial, are subject to oversight by an elected or appointed body.

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Related: Hinn, Dollar, White Among 6 Televangelists Under Senate Scrutiny for Alleged Donation Abuse