Responding to protests by former members of a controversial church and residents upset with the approval process, a Chicago suburb has canceled a land deal with the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC).
On Wednesday, the Park District Board of Commissioners of South Barrington, Ill., voted 4-0 not to sell a 34-acre tract of land to Fourth Avenue Gospel Building Inc., voiding a contract that was nearly finalized. Fourth Avenue Gospel is a nonprofit group owned and operated by the PBCC, a Protestant denomination with more than 300 congregations in 18 countries, which critics call a “cult.”
The move comes after weeks of heated community debate, including a large protest before an August 30 board meeting. Protesters concerned about the group’s religious practices held signs with messages including, “PBCC is NOT a public place of worship,” and “No PBCC!”
Lynette Diener, who lives in nearby Franklin Park and said she “escaped” from a PBCC community in 2009, told The Roys Report (TRR) she got involved with the opposition “to help them understand who they were dealing with.”
“You are born into the cult. . . . They say you are sovereignly placed into the Holy Fellowship of God’s Son, and to abandon that makes you apostate and an opposer. PBCC leaders cut me off from family and friends.”
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PBCC allegedly does not allow outsiders at their gatherings and also requires members to have no contact with former members, TRR previously reported.
However, Russell McAbery, a spokesperson for the local PBCC church group, accused the opposition of propagating “misinformation” and engaging in “shameful behavior.”
McAbery told TRR that Park District commissioners praised the church in public remarks, noting “how fairly and openly we conducted ourselves throughout this process.” He added: “These positive testimonies confirm that those attacking Fourth Avenue did so on the basis of religious bigotry, not fact.”
But some local residents said religious concerns didn’t play a role in their opposition to the land deal. Instead, they expressed frustration over the lack of transparency and proper process.
Steve Janowiak, an investments manager in South Barrington, told TRR that the PBCC land deal followed a “different process” than other issues before the board. He is one of several residents who filed suit in late August against the park district to halt the land sale.
“We asked the Park District specifically: Why did you not hire an auctioneer this time? Why did you not put a sign on the site this time? Why did you not provide residents hardly any information about this proposed deal?” said Janowiak. “Their answer was short and almost condescending: Because we didn’t have to.”
Prior to Thursday’s meeting, South Barrington Park District Board Member Shelby Elias, who had served since 2019, resigned.
In Elias’ resignation letter, obtained by TRR, Elias claimed she had faced “ludicrous allegations” and “malicious threats to my reputation” over the proposed deal. She added that she had never met with PBCC agents or been involved in any “prearranged secret sales.”
On its website, the church claimed that Richard Marsh, a whistleblower who for years has alleged PBCC abuses, “instigated” the opposition to the land deal.
In a statement to TRR, Marsh, who lives in Ontario, Canada, said he did not instigate pushback of the Chicago-area PBCC land deal and that he learned about it from news reports.
“Local residents were highly organized,” said Marsh. “My only involvement was to record a short factual video explaining what PBCC meeting halls look like and how they are used.”
He praised the cancellation as “a great result for the Barrington community.” Marsh added: “I hope that people take courage in seeing a relatively tiny group of ordinary citizens take on a multi-billion-dollar cult and win.”
Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes on faith, culture, and public policy for several media outlets. He and his family live in the Washington, D.C. area.
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2 Responses
What happened to freedom of religion? There are many churches and denominations with whose doctrine I disagree. That doesn’t mean they can’t buy property and have a church on it.
This was not about freedom of religion, or about religion at all. The resident’s objection to the PBCC was that they were not providing any facilities that would benefit the community. Most churches and other religious buildings are open to the public and provide public facilities such as playgroups, community fundraisers, thanksgiving dinners, wedding venues etc. The PBCC operate as a closed private club – and provide NO public facilities, while also paying no property taxes.
They have every right in the USA do do this, and that right is not being infringed.
It is equally the right of the community to prefer uses for this large parcel of land that will actually be of benefit to the community, either in the form of property tax revenues or facilities. Barrington is a diverse and inclusive community, and for the PBCC to charge them with “religious bigotry” is outrageous, and unsupported by any evidence whatever. Russell McAbery and the PBCC community owe the residents of Barrington an apology.