Written by J. Bennett Guess
March 10, 2008

The UCC has been granted a three-week extension to respond to the Internal Revenue Service's inquiry of Sen. Barack Obama's June 2007 speech at the UCC's General Synod in Hartford, Conn. The deadline is now set for March 27.

The original IRS letter of Feb. 20 set a 15-day response window, however, the UCC was granted the extension on Feb. 28, according to attorney Donald C. Clark, the UCC's Nationwide Special Counsel.

"Given the extensive amount of information documenting the steps taken by the UCC to be in compliance with permissible restrictions on those addressing the gathering of the faithful at General Synod, we obtained a three-week extension of time to respond to the IRS inquiry," Clark told United Church News.

Even as the IRS continues its investigation, the Rev. John H. Thomas said the UCC will not shirk from its longstanding tradition of advocating for justice as a fundamental tenet of UCC faith and witness.

"When the church speaks out on issues of justice and peace it is continuing a prophetic witness rooted in the Bible and at the heart of the traditions in American church history that have shaped the United Church of Christ," Thomas said. "Labeling this as partisan or political represents a profound misunderstanding of the moral responsibility of the church and its members to be involved in the great and pressing public issues of the day."

The UCC's legal team is being headed by former U.S. Solicitor General Seth P. Waxman from the prestigious law firm WilmerHale of Washington, D.C.