News Release
For Immediate Release: 10.23.25
Contact: Natalie Konstans, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Township of Windsor, MI Fines Church for Holding Religious Activities in Newly Renovated Building
Township officials refuse to process permit applications and fine the church $4,500 fines for hosting weddings.
Windsor, MI—First Liberty Institute sent a demand letter on behalf of the Tarrington Group Properties, LLC and The Sanctum of One God Church after the Township of Windsor, Michigan fined the Church for hosting weddings on its property.
You can read the letter here.
“It’s unthinkable that anyone in the Township of Windsor’s leadership would be so anti-religious that they would oppose a neighborhood church’s constitutionally protected right to freely engage in its religious activities,” said Ryan Gardner, Senior Counsel at First Liberty. “The Constitution and federal law forbid government officials from intimidating and preventing churches from using their property as a place to exercise their religious beliefs.”
Don and Kathy Hamilton purchased an abandoned church building in the Township of Windsor, Michigan with the vision of opening a new church. The Property, owned by Tarrington Group Properties, LLC, leases the building for free to The Sanctum of One God, to operate the church and host worship services, Bible studies, weddings, and funerals, among other religious activities. After building renovations were complete, the Township sent the church a cease-and-desist letter claiming the church was operating an illegal event venue in a residential zone and cited the Church with $4,500 in fines for hosting three weddings, two of which were for family and friends. Additionally, the Township fire chief arbitrarily limited the occupancy of the building to 50 people despite the fact that the building can hold 400 and arbitrarily limited the Church’s operating hours to just a few hours per week.
In the letter, attorneys state, “The Township’s continual restrictions on the Church’s use of the Property have all but foreclosed any possibility for the Church to function and exist. Such a deliberate prohibition is in direct violation of federal law and constitutionally protected freedoms.”
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact Natalie Konstans at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
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