During the past quinquennium, the public affairs and religious liberty (PARL) department has again faced as its major challenge the preservation of jobs for church members when their employer's schedule conflicts with Sabbath observance. The latest numbers indicate that in the North American Division approximately 15 Seventh-day Adventists per week lose their jobs over Sabbath/employment conflict. Legislation to help correct this problem was introduced in the past several congressional sessions, and was pending during the entire quinquennium period. However, neither house of the United States Congress has voted on any of these bills. There was a hearing in a House committee November 10, 2005, but the committee has not reported the bill out of committee for a vote by the House. The bills pending in Congress right now are H.R. 1445 in the House of Representatives, sponsored by Mark Souder of Indiana along with 18 co-sponsors, and S. 677 in the Senate, sponsored by Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania with 15 co-sponsors.

One bright spot in the Sabbath/employment conflict area is in the Michigan Court of Appeals where, on January 12, 2006, it reaffirmed a lower court decision that individuals are entitled to unemployment compensation if their employment is terminated because of their religious belief. The same result occurred in a case involving a Seventh-day Adventist in the mid-1980s, which was also church-sponsored litigation. It is not known at present if the State of Michigan will pursue an appeal or ask for a rehearing.

Church-state issues have recently been highlighted in the news. The line separating politics and religion is becoming increasingly blurred. Religion used as a political device is divisive, and preventing societal division over religious differences is one of the reasons for having church-state separation. It is one of the principles that has preserved our republic since its founding.

One of the areas of church activity in which government regulation has escalated is that of door-to-door solicitation and sales of books and periodicals. As our society becomes increasingly private, fewer people are willing to be interrupted by someone knocking at their door to discuss, promote, or distribute religious literature, or solicit funds. Jehovah's Witnesses have taken the lead in some of the litigation which has gone to the U.S. Supreme Court with resulting court decisions providing many of our religious solicitation protections. This was particularly true during the 1940s. However, as with other religious freedoms, we have seen this right diminished.

The Jehovah's Witnesses brought a case to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002, challenging a village ordinance that restricted their calling on private homes for religious purposes. Because of the importance of the argument in interpreting the Court's opinion, some members of the PARL department attended the oral argument in the Supreme Court chamber the morning it was argued. It had been stipulated the door-to-door activity was religious in nature and involved no money, either through sale or solicitation. The Court ruled eight to one that door-to-door contact for religious or political purposes, with no money involved, could not be regulated by the village government. That was a victory for freedom of religion to the extent that religion involves only discussion or the distribution of literature.

Unfortunately, Justice Stevens, in his opinion, suggested the ordinance might well have been constitutional had the village applied it "only to commercial activities and the solicitation of funds." Thus, the ordinances of many cities and towns regulating solicitation were not affected by the ruling. Therefore, the issues of Ingathering and the distribution of books and periodicals are still a matter of dispute, and will continue to present problems for us and prompt litigation.

The PARL department is active in working with other denominations and organizations, and on its own when necessary, to support legislation and litigation when appropriate to preserve religious freedom.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance," is a statement attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Ellen G. White said it differently: "We are not doing the will of God if we sit in quietude, doing nothing to preserve liberty of conscience" (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 716).

Vernon L. Alger is the Lake Union Conference public affairs and religious liberty director.

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The Lake Union Conference trust services department is a resource for the trust services departments of the local conferences. As such, it keeps current with tax laws, relates to other sources when appropriate, and works to provide the initial education and the continuing education for all certified trust officers in the Lake Union. Currently, we have 24 certified trust officers in the Lake Union and its five local conferences.

Estate planning is a continuation of stewardship of a person's assets and resources established during life. An appropriate estate plan can provide for surviving dependents, as well as offer an opportunity to make gifts to individuals, to the church, and to other charities. The local conference trust services department informs members regarding options to meet these obligations and charitable intent in a manner consistent with the members' desires, and consistent with their principles and the principles of the church.

During the past quinquennium, the funds left to the church and church-related entities from estate plans established by the conferences in the Lake Union exceeded $8 million. The General Conference trust services department reported that the cumulative benefits to churches and church-related entities worldwide from the church's trust programs exceeded the one billion dollar mark this past year, calculated from 1968, the year trust services became a department in the structure of the Seventh-day Adventist church. We are grateful for God's blessing in providing dedicated individuals at our conference trust services departments who are willing to take the required specialized training and continuing education to maintain their status as certified trust officers.

One of the greatest benefits to the church's trust services department is the education, certification, accreditation, and audit program the church started in the 1980s. This program has received many favorable comments from non-church entities that have seen it in operation, and it has been copied by other charitable organizations in establishing their own trust programs. This program provides standards to assure the individuals working as trust officers are properly trained; the funds are properly invested, recorded, and distributed; and the audit by the General Conference Auditing Service provides all the relevant information to the managing boards.

You are invited to contact your local conference trust services department to meet with a trust officer.

Vernon L. Alger is the Lake Union Conference trust services director.