Yonat Shimron
Yonat Shimron writes for Religion News Service.
The vote expelling the 145-year-old First Covenant Church Minneapolis was the first time the Evangelical Covenant members have removed a congregation from the denomination.
People living in sanctuary to escape deportation have received fines of up to half a million dollars.
In a separate ruling, the Judicial Council upheld an exit plan that allows churches to leave the denomination with their property.
The 12th-century cathedral was already beginning to crumble.
A 21-year-old white man faces hate crimes and arson charges for the church fires, and a white supremacist symbol was spray-painted at the Highlander Center.
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