Ecclesia College Argued in Court That It Is a Church, But EC Asked for State Funds That Could Not Legally Go To a Church

 Oren Paris III said he knew the scheme was bad, but pled not-guilty until the last minute. Now he is in prison.

Attorneys still seeking release of Ecclesia documents under FOIA

By Ron Wood

Posted: September 19, 2018 at 1:05 a.m.

Parsons is represented by attorneys Chip Sexton and Joey McCutchen.

Arkansas legislators gave more than $700,000 of taxpayers' money from the Improvement Fund to the Springdale school.

Originally filed Feb. 9, 2017, the lawsuit contends private organizations receiving public money, engaging in activities of public interest, carrying on work intertwined with a government body or receiving grants to promote economic development are subject to the requirements of the state Freedom of Information Act.

Ecclesia has contended the mere receipt of state money doesn't make the private school subject to provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Ecclesia also argued it's a church and nonprofit corporation and, therefore, entitled to constitutional protection.

The amended complaint drops a claim the grant money given to Ecclesia constituted the giving of state money to a religious institution in violation of the state Constitution.

An attorney for Ecclesia College in June turned over some records related to how state money the college received from the General Improvement Fund was used. But, Sexton said Tuesday, those documents weren't what they asked for.

The amended complaint filed Monday says Ecclesia hasn't released the documents requested by Parsons in early 2017 although the time allowed by law to respond has long since expired.

"As of the present date, Ecclesia has failed and refused and continues to fail and refuse to produce such documents and has made clear in pleadings filed in this that it is not going to produce such documents without an order from this court," according to the amended complaint.

The complaint asks a hearing be set within seven days and the court order Ecclesia to release the requested documents.

Parsons and his lawyers are asking Ecclesia be ordered to pay back all the grant money it received, arguing the money wasn't used for the stated purpose.

"The funds were not used for the acquisition of land for student housing, nor were they used to build student housing," according to the complaint. "Instead, the funds were used to pay kickbacks to legislators, to purchase tracts of land which defendant promptly encumbered to acquire additional funds for the personal benefit of its officers, agents and employees."

The state Department of Finance and Administration also has asked state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office to sue Ecclesia College to reclaim at least $600,000 of kickback-tainted grants the college received from the General Improvement Fund.

I Have a Shrub That Smells Like a Donut Shoppe - Summersweet or Pepperbush

Donuts: made for pennies, sold for dollars, and they are addicting. The future Mrs. Ichabod told me at Augustana College that I smelled like a bakery. I brought her pecan rolls.

"It has attractive bottle-brush shaped blossoms, it can tolerate shade or sun, it likes moist soils, it attracts butterflies, it is native to Maine and it blooms in summer — July to September, depending on location and variety.

The most wonderful thing about it, though, is its fragrance. When it is in bloom, you can smell the plant from 50 feet or more away. It is intoxicating. One of its common names is summersweet, which alludes to the fragrance, and another is pepperbush."

Child labor laws do not apply to children working for parents. My calendar modeling fee was "Thanks, you can eat one donut."

"The blossoms are an upright columnar shape rather than round. So many flowers are round, and it is nice to have a different size and shape.”

I had a call-back for a later Melo Cream calendar.

"What a romantic plant! Butterflies, bees, and other beneficial insects are drawn to the sweet nectar of the shrub’s fluffy, candle-like flowers. The flowers offer a strong, but never-cloying scent that recalls honeysuckle, rose, clove, and heliotrope."

I got what I wanted for my first birthday - a cake.
After the photo-op, they explained I had to share.

The name Clethra does not convey its fragrance so I like Summersweet or Pepperbush as alternatives.

I overlooked the two Clethra shrubs in the bird feeding garden, because the Chaste Trees outgrew them. Because Clethra is known for attracting butterflies and beneficial insects, I moved them to the rose garden. 

I did not think of their fragrance until I walked by when the breeze blew the aroma into my face. Pow! I smelled a combination of cinnamon and other sweet smells. Yes, that was a good move.

 The Chaste tree has a medicinal smell, loves lots of sun,
and does not respond well to watering.

I reported the death of the Chaste Tree too early. Its replacement came, so I tugged at one we moved. It had promptly wilted, so I dumped some rainwater on it and pruned the branches back severely. That worked once before but I did not see much hope. Tug. Tug. "This is really stuck in the soil!" - unlike the typical dead shrub. I looked closely at the plant and saw tiny new leaves all over the branches. 

I put its tiny replacement in the hole left by an Easy Does It rose that seemed to grow but died later in the season. That place was probably too sunny and dry for the rose, so it was good for the new Chaste Tree, more like a Chaste Twig for now.

We enjoy many beautiful fragrances in the garden. Rose perfume often fills the breezes in the front yard. They say Joe Pye is more of a vanilla, and no doubt the butterflies are wild for that.

The backyard gardens have Poke, Butterfly Bush, Beautybush, and Elderberry, so that area often smells like grape jelly. 

Hummingbirds also like Butterfly Bush.

Metaxas' Luther Book Recommended to Ichabod While the Blogger Is Reading and Reviewing the Book

 Eric Metaxas' Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World is good reading for everyone.

Gregory L. Jackson I am reading the Eric Metaxas book now, and I agree. It is excellent. I love history but not many historians. He is up there with Roland Bainton. We were all at Yale.

Manage

Gérald Parker So, we are reading this excellent bio at the same time! I really am enjoying the read. Eric has a radio show, too, and a prestigious forum that is available on YouTube (among other sites). He is a highly entertaining man, not something that one can say of others so hightly educated.

Online quote:

Reformation!
Mr. Metaxes hits a Grand Slam Homerun! His research, writing, and presentation all award winning in my book. I loved reading (listening) to this book. The irony is I spent five years in residence at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana and learned more about the Reformation from Mr. Metaxes in 22 hours of listening (reading) than I did at seminary. I rejoice that learning is unending. I will recommend this book to everyone I know. Thank you again Mr. Metaxes for writing and recording the book.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
John Wurst
Lake Ann, Michigan
10-13-17

Two commendable aspects of Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World are:

• Vivid stories about the main characters in the Reformation;
• Discussions about the meaning of their battles.

From the beginner to the self-styled church historian, anyone who likes to read will find Metaxas' book enjoyable and worthwhile, 

Two assumptions struck me as precisely true about today's Church, whether the Pan-Lutheran Synodical Conference or the Church of Rome:

1. Lombard's Sentences and Aristotle are in perfect agreement with Christian doctrine. This is the overlay of Fuller/Willow Creek philosophy and human reason, which constantly interpret the Scriptures.
2. No one can is allowed the infallibility of the visible Church. The wrong attitude toward Holy Mother Denomination immediately puts one in the Inferno.

Roman Catholics deserve a separate post, but observe how they are just as intoxicated by Barth/Kirschbaum as the Lutheran rubes who attend Fuller Seminary. The Rome of the Reformation is the Thrivent-managed Pan-Lutheran Synodical Corporation of today.

What does the Bible teach about forgiveness and salvation? Wait, first let me look up the Justification papers in the Holy of Holies, the WELS Essay File. I do not know the truth of God's Word until these atheists explan it to me. They must be correct, because they all agree with each other. Instead of Lombard and Aristotle, they have Bleauhard and Wigwaddle as authorities.

"You dare disagree? Why were these notable essays carefully picked? You actually doubt the Mordor faculty at Mequon, who chose them? Who are you, miserable swine, to doubt the wisdom of these saints? We have 60 essays against your pathetic scribbles, and each one was endorsed by his conference and the faculty. Repent of this insolence before it is too late. God will not be as patient with you as we have been. Time is running out. You have shredded the Eighth Comandment and violated Matthew 18."

The paragraph above is a summary of LCMS-ELS-WELS-CLC  dogma and behavior. Rome lies about the Immaculate Conception being taught from the beginning. The Pan-Lutherans deceive their members and clergy when insisting Objective Justification has always been taught, because they have found it in Luther, the Book of Concord, and ancient copies of the NIV. Questions? - see the above paragraph.

Readers - think about this fact. No one really objected to the Church Growth Movement when Missouri, WELS, the Little Sect, and even the hidebound CLC (sic) introduced it and made it normative. How dull were their consciences decades ago? How stupified were their ideas about the true Church? Their contempt for Luther oozes out of every effort they make.

Concordia Publishing House is a warning label.