FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.4For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:3-5 ESV
Who We Are & What We Are About? Part 1
1.Critical to our legal defense identity, purpose, and direction is launching an effective fundraising arm whose objective it is to build, maintain, and develop a legal defense fund project to facilitate our Black Church preservationist ministry against those who would seek to deny said ministry. Unfortunately, we’ve had to learn this lesson the hard way. But we are quick learners. TEACHING BIBLE CHAMPIONS is our answer.
2. First, we are an independent (autonomous) local arm of the Saving Black Churches movement under the aegis of the National Trust For Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, Co-Founded and Executive Directed by Dr. Brent Leggs, African American Architectural Historian, author, Preserving Afican American Historic Places (2012) and contributor, Preservation and Social Inclusion (2020).
3. Secondly, by Champions we mean, according to Wikipedia, “a person or persons who has defeated or surpassed all rivals in a competition especially in sports.” The online reference goes on to add “a person who fights or argues for a cause on behalf of someone else.” More, “3rd person present. champions i.e., to support a cause, defend.”
4. CHAPIONS serves as a Legal Defense Fund Ministry.
5. By Legal Defense Fund Ministry we mean CHAMPIONS has a fundraising arm to support its line of development inside and outside Cook County Civil Court, City, County, State, and Federal governments.
6. We borrow the idea from the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Legal Defense & Education Fund.
7. Upon recently receiving the unfair Civil Court ruling favoring Metropolitan Chicago Synod’s legally ungrounded complaint against our ministry’s property rights, we immediately decided to appeal and/or litigate. Understanding at the outset that said appeal would require effective legal representation to be successful and would in turn require extensive legal costs.
8. Accordingly, we are revisiting Reformation’s modest SAVING BLACK CHURCHES Legal Defense Fund (LDF) account at U.S. Bank in order to boost its financial capacity.
9. What is a Legal Defense Fund? According to Wikipedia, “In the United States, a legal defense fund (or LDF) is an account set up to pay for legal expenses, which can include attorneys’ fees, court filings, litigation costs, legal advice, or other legal fees. The fund can be public or private and is set up for individuals, organizations, or for a particular purpose. These funds are often used by government public officials, civil rights organizations, and public interest organizations.”
10. LDF History? Again referencing Wikipedia “The exact origins of legal defense funds are unclear. In the mid-nineteenth-century United States, a number of minority groups pioneered the practice of amassing funds to cover legal costs associated with their battles for civil rights and civil liberties.[2]“
11. LDF & Civil Rights? Finally, Wikipedia references LDFs in the area of Civil Rights as: “The exact origins of legal defense funds are unclear. In the mid-nineteenth-century United States, a number of minority groups pioneered the practice of amassing funds to cover legal costs associated with their battles for civil rights and civil liberties.[2]“
12. FROM START-UP TO ACCELERATED LDF. TEACHING BIBLE CHAMPIONS’ LDF meets Wednesday evenings weekly, 8PM for Bible Study via our recorded free phone conferences at our one number here: (727) 731-7760. Our TEACHING BIBLE CHAMPIONS’ meeting will consist of gathering our Production Team, as well as gathering invited guests on an open invitation basis.
13. The point of our weekly Bible Study free phone conferences is facilitate a grassroots monthly $20 subscriptions appeal.
NEW DIRECTIONS: Reformation African American Lutheran Free Congregation Chicago's Legal Defense Fund Saving Black Churches 