WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral argument in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown
WHEN: Immediately following oral argument, which begins at 9:30 a.m. PDT, Tuesday, Sept. 29
WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, James R. Browning Courthouse, Courtroom 1, 95 7th St., San Francisco, or view the livestream. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Director of Media Output Hattie Troutman at (771) 200-7630.
SAN FRANCISCO – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Yakima Union Gospel Mission in Washington state will be available for media interviews Tuesday following oral argument in Union Gospel Mission of Yakima v. Brown. In 2021, the Washington Supreme Court gutted a 72-year-old statute protecting religious ministries, rewriting it to force them to hire people who reject their faith. The mission is asking the court to uphold its right to decide who is religiously qualified to live out its mission.
In January, a unanimous three-judge 9th Circuit panel ruled in favor of the mission’s First Amendment right to hire those who share its religious beliefs. Washington asked the 9th Circuit to hear the case en banc, which it will do Tuesday.
“No church or ministry should be forced to hire someone who rejects or undermines its faith,” said ADF CEO, President, and Chief Counsel Kristen Waggoner, who will be arguing before the court on behalf of the mission. “The government has no business deciding who is religiously qualified to serve. A Christian ministry shouldn’t be forced to hire an atheist to carry out its religious mission any more than a synagogue should be forced to hire a Buddhist.”
“Before it is a shelter or a soup kitchen, Yakima Union Gospel Mission is a body of believers,” Waggoner continued. “From the CEO to the cook, everyone prays together, disciples one another, and bears witness to Christ through how they live and serve, not just what they say. Washington’s position is a national outlier. No federal appellate court has coerced a religious group to hire those who can’t live out its beliefs, and we’re asking the 9th Circuit to reject Washington’s invitation to become the first.”
“For almost a century, Yakima Union Gospel Mission has welcomed anyone battling homelessness, poverty, or addiction and walked with them through the transforming love and kindness of Jesus Christ,” said Scott Thielen, CEO of Yakima Union Gospel Mission. “Now Washington wants to force us to hire staff who reject—and even oppose—the very faith that makes our life-changing work possible. Our team doesn’t clock in and out of our commitment to the Gospel—we live it together, supporting and praying with one another, so we can serve our community with Christ’s compassion.”
Since 1936, Yakima Union Gospel Mission has served the homeless with the love, compassion, and kindness of Jesus Christ regardless of background or belief. Every mission employee—from the CEO to the cook, the thrift store worker to the IT technician—is a Christian, called to bear witness to the transforming power of Christ through discipleship, fellowship, and prayer with one another. For 72 years, Washington’s own law protected religious groups’ right to hire those who share their faith and the Constitution has always protected this right. But Washington is now threatening the mission with significant liability, fines, and penalties for hiring only those who share its faith.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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