A Wyoming church, who serves thousands of individuals through its food pantry ministry, says its partnership with a food bank was cancelled over its religious teachings.
Liberty Counsel filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of the Foundations For Nations Church with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) against the Food Bank of the Rockies and its operational hub, Food Bank of Wyoming, for reportedly unlawfully cutting off their partnership with the church.
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The decision to sever ties with the church’s food bank came in response to a July 5 sermon that contrasted the teachings of Christianity with Native American religious beliefs. The church, located on the Wind River Indian Reservation near Riverton, Wyoming, is a multi-ethnic church attended by some members of the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes.
During the sermon, the pastor and other Native American members of the church discussed and embraced the Biblical belief that salvation and freedom from sin comes through Jesus Christ alone and not through Native American rituals, including the northern Arapaho Trube’s Sun Dance ritual.
After the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s business council expressed that they had been offended by the sermon, the food bank cut off its partnership with the church.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Hannah Davis and originally published by Decision Magazine.
