BELFAST — Calvary Church Belfast is suing the University of Maine System (UMS) for religious discrimination after its winning bid for the Hutchinson Center in Belfast was rescinded back in September.
This latest development comes less than a week after UMS awarded the vacant building to Belfast-based nonprofit Waldo Community Action Partners (Waldo Cap) following a second bidding process.
The evangelical church currently operates out of Faith Temple Church in Belfast.
Representing the church in the lawsuit is Orlando-based religious liberties organization Liberty Counsel, who VP of Legal Affairs Daniel Schmid says the lawsuit they filed on Tuesday, November 19 is on the grounds of the constitution’s First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment.
If the church acquired the Hutchinson Center they would’ve had a building of their own and Schmid says they would’ve used it for their weekly services, educational programs, and their substance abuse counseling program.
“They’ve been deprived of it on the basis of their religious values and the community’s …