12/1/2006 - December 2006 - Who Is SLI and Why Do We Need Your Support

Who is SLI and Why Do We Need Your Support? SLI is an I.R.S. approved Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. This means your contributions to SLI are tax deductible to you and not taxable to us. Our only source of funds is from individuals, churches and similar groups. The purpose of SLI is to provide free legal and educational services in the five areas of priority stated above. These services are provided through private practice attorneys. That is, attorneys providing services are not staff or paid a salary. In fact, very little in the way of wages is paid to SLI attorneys. Services are usually provided without fees. We support ourselves through our own private legal practices. The funds you contribute go to the basic expenses of providing our services: office and support, publications, and travel. The amount of support we receive impacts the amount of service we can provide. With your 2006 support, SLI has provided advice to individuals, churches, church schools, and other organizations on a multitude of issues within our priority areas, including, participation in political races, local county authorities threatening church/homeschool regulation, sweepstakes gambling, various legislation and abortion clinic regulations. There were four major accomplishments in 2006 in which SLI participated significantly:  The closing of the Summit Medical Center abortion clinic  Enactment of the “Brody Act” defining “person” under Alabama criminal law as from conception  Passage of the “Sanctity of Marriage Amendment” to the Alabama Constitution prohibiting same-sex marriage and civil union  Removal of an athletic event tax which applied only to church schools Additionally, SLI is a resource to churches and ministries on a number of issues that do not necessarily come within the priority areas. Our attorneys acquire specific knowledge on a number of issues which they gladly share at no charge. Two recent examples are an explanation to a church about how to amend its corporate status and elect trustees, and to another, a legal opinion on how a church’s tax-exempt status is recognized for purposes of commercial transactions with providers like Walmart. More complex non-priority matters are referred to our cooperating private practice attorneys for usually fee generating services. In 2007, we want to engage the legal and public policy culture even more. We anticipate a renewed attempt to unconstitutionally regulate church daycare centers. Regulation of abortion clinics must continue in order to provide a higher standard of healthcare to women. Unprincipled politicians will try to use religion to further their personal goals by suggesting erroneous and misleading Bible teaching in public schools. We must work continuously to protect the religious rights of students, parents, churches, and others. The more funds we have at our disposal, the more services we can provide. Therefore, it is important that you give serious consideration to financial support of SLI. This month, you must make your charitable contributions in order to get credit on your 2006 taxes. We urge you to give serious consideration to supporting SLI with a very generous gift at this end-of-the-year time and continuing your support into next year. We sacrificially serve because we feel called and we earnestly request you join us in our efforts.

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