11:32 PM, Oct 12, 2012
The Creation 7th Day & Adventist Church in Guys, shown in July. / Submitted photo
By Tracie Simer
| tsimer@jacksonsun.com
McGill
To read Walter McGill’s post-release statement, visitwww.pastorwalterchickmcgilllawsuit.net/PDF/MyOfficialPrisonReleaseStatement.pdf
To read McGill’s open letter to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, visitwww.pastorwalterchickmcgilllawsuit.net/PDF/OpenLetter2TedWilson2.pdf
To read the petition, visit www.LibertyPetition.com
Two West Tennessee church leaders have said they are not done with their fight for religious freedom — a fight they said is a “disgrace” for a country that was founded on religious liberty.
Luke Chartier and Walter McGill are members of a church in Guys, Tenn., called “The Creation 7th Day & Adventist Church.” The church was sued for trademark infringement by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Chartier said.
“We argued that our name has never caused confusion, and that our use of the name of our faith is divinely mandated and a key facet of our religion,” he said in an email to The Jackson Sun. “The court agreed with us on both points, but ruled against us on a technicality. Because our religion requires our use of the name, we have not been able to comply with court orders to stop doing so.”
He said the Seventh-day Adventist Church has “persistently” asked the court to jail Chartier and McGill in response to their actions.
“The court issued warrants for our arrest for ‘contempt of court,’” Chartier said. “And we were arrested on those charges and held without bail.”
McGill said their arrests and incarcerations were civil rather than criminal arrests. “We suffer no criminal record as the result of our arrests,” he said. “The law enforcement and courts would do nothing to us without the requests of the plaintiffs in this civil lawsuit. A few of the greatest names in history were made via ‘civil disobedience’ when faced with the need to satisfy conscience and stand for righteous principle.”
Both men were released from federal prison in late September after serving time in California, where McGill was arrested.
Representatives with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists could not be reached for comment.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has more than 17 million members worldwide and 1.2 million members in North America, according to the church’s official website. The “Seventh-day” refers to members’ adherence to the biblical Sabbath, while “Adventists” means they anticipate the return of Christ and identifies their “faith community and distinct value system.”
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