by Jorge Gomez • 3 minutes
A barn burner of a legal battle is happening in Weare, New Hampshire, a town of 9,000 located on the picturesque New England coast.
Local officials insist that Pastor Howard Kaloogian is not allowed to have worship services in a barn situated on his home property.
A couple of years ago, he planted Grace New England. The small congregation is part of Grace Community Church, whose main campus is in Houston.
The barn is fully renovated, and the congregation meets there every Saturday evening. Pastor Howard added pews, a pulpit and a heater to make sure members can worship comfortably. It’s usually no more than 30 people who get together.
In 2023, Pastor Howard received a “Cease and Desist” order from the town “to immediately stop any assembly regarding Grace New England Church.”
Town officials are also threatening financial penalties. The Boston Globe recently ran a feature story on its Sunday front page and reported that a town enforcement officer issued “threats of $550-a-day fines.”
The town is also making the Pastor jump through endless hoops just to have people over for worship and prayer. As The Globe reports, “his church would need to undergo a formal site-plan review to get planning board approval if he wished to continue holding gatherings.”
First Liberty filed a federal lawsuit arguing that federal law protects individuals and religious institutions from discriminatory land-use regulations. Our team asked the Court to stop the town from taking any further action against the church.
“Hundreds of thousands of Americans meet every day in homes for prayer meetings, Bible studies, book clubs, card games and other gatherings,” said Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel at First Liberty. “Why would Weare city officials stop this small, Christian congregation from legally doing likewise?”
But it’s not just First Liberty that’s fighting for the church. The U.S. Department of Justice also expressed an interest in making sure Grace New England is allowed to worship as federal law and the U.S. Constitution allow. The DOJ recently filed a statement supporting our client.
Pastor Howard previously held other gatherings at the property for years, including weddings, board-game tournaments, local events and even hosted political candidates who wanted to speak to the community. What’s more, other homes in the area hold social gatherings such as Super Bowl parties, poker games and book clubs.
The town places no restrictive zoning demands on those meetings. But apparently, it’s a problem when a Pastor begins gathering with others as a church. That’s clear discrimination based on religion—and it’s illegal.
The DOJ pointed this out as well, arguing that there were no issues with secular assemblies. But once religious services were held, that’s when the town started making restrictive and discriminatory zoning demands.
Pastor Howard Is Not Giving Up. He Needs Your Support to Win His Court Case.
Pastor Howard told The Globe “he and his wife felt called by God to plant a church and nurture it into a burgeoning faith community like those formed by first-century Christians, whose practices are documented in the biblical book of Acts.”
“They gathered together, and they had meals, and they worshiped the Lord in their home,” he said. “Wouldn’t that be nice if that went on across the country, in every home in the nation? . . . I think that would be a good thing, and I’d like to do that.”
While the town wants to ban worship at the barn, Pastor Howard remains determined to live out his faith and fulfill his calling.
“I will still worship the Lord in my home, as will my wife,” he said. “And we will do that with any friend who wants to join us.”
Pastor Howard isn’t giving up—and neither is First Liberty. Telling a pastor, or anyone, that he can’t use his home to get together with others to pray and worship betrays everything religious freedom is about.
We need faithful Americans like you to come alongside Pastor Howard so that he and all religious leaders can care for their flock without being punished by the government.
You can help us win his case. It would mean so much to the Pastor as well as the congregants impacted by this ministry. And by winning for this church, you’re also going to help protect religious freedom for every American, including YOU.
This legal battle is far from over. Pastor Howard and Grace New England need your support. Please give to First Liberty today.
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