
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 3, 1995                   TAG: 9501030113
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: DANVILLE                                 LENGTH: Short

OFFICIALS OUST CHURCH PROGRAM

Danville housing officials temporarily have shut down a local church outreach program, saying it violates federal law by including religious practices during its meetings in a public-housing project.

Alvin M. Steingold, executive director of the Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, said officials have decided to forbid the Cathedral of Praise Assemblies of God Church from holding weekly outreach sessions in the Cardinal Village housing project.

``We did not give permission for the church to do this,'' Steingold said. ``If they want to come back, that's fine, but they can't do anything that involves the practice of religion.''

Cardinal Village, one of five public-housing projects in Danville, has been a site of community mission work since October. For two hours each Sunday, about 25 church workers have gathered to tutor children with behavioral problems.

The sessions included Bible study and singing Christian songs.

Rev. Tedd Manning, pastor of the Cathedral of Praise Church, said the housing authority's decision took him by surprise.

``We came in the Sunday before Christmas and found all of our materials, including posters and pictures of the children, on the floor,'' Manning said. ``We have a lot of upset parents who can't understand why we can't come back.''

Manning said the church would continue to run the program, founded to keep children off the streets, outside the housing project.

by CNB