Maine Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in
“No Church Child Custody Order” Thursday

Thursday, I am at the Maine Supreme Court presenting oral arguments in Bickford v. Bradeen — the most egregious anti-Christian court ruling I have ever witnessed in my life.

A Maine trial judge has issued a shocking order: Emily Bickford cannot take her own 12-year-old daughter to church. Even worse, the judge gave the hostile father sole authority to prevent this young girl from reading the Bible, saying the Lord’s Prayer, or associating with any “religious philosophy” or Christian teaching — stripping Emily of her God-given and constitutional right to raise her child in her faith.

Why? Because Emily is a born-again Christian living in a state seemingly obsessed with erasing God. Liberty Counsel has stepped in on appeal, and that is why I am at the Maine Supreme Court today.

Help us defend Emily and every parent’s right to take their child to church! A special Year-End Challenge Grant will DOUBLE your donation.

Emily had this precious child out of wedlock with Matthew Bradeen. Although they never married, a court order provided shared visitation.

Emily and her daughter found hope and healing at Calvary Chapel, a Bible-teaching church in Maine. Their faith grew, and Andrea* wanted to be baptized. But when Andrea told her father, he ran to court to stop it.

The father even hired a former Marxist professor to testify that Calvary Chapel is a “cult.” The judge accepted this outrageous claim, mocked Emily's faith by writing “god” in lowercase throughout the ruling, and condemned the church for praying over mother and child.

Then came the devastating order, which states that Andrea:

1. Cannot attend Calvary Chapel — or any church — unless Matthew, a man who hates God, allows it. 
2. Cannot attend “any services, gatherings, or events associated with Calvary Chapel.”  
3. Cannot review any “material, literature, video, or other messaging associated with or created by Calvary Chapel.” 
4. Cannot “associate or communicate with any member” of Calvary Chapel.

The order includes “any other church or religious organization, or exposure to the teachings of any religious philosophy or of the Bible in general.”

This is not just an attack on one family. If this ruling stands, it will set a precedent that courts can ban parents from raising their children in their faith.

Liberty Counsel is fighting back.

Tomorrow, I am at the Maine Supreme Court to present oral arguments to overturn this unconstitutional order. But we cannot do it alone.

Emily and Andrea need YOU.

A special Year-End Challenge Grant will DOUBLE the impact of your gift today. Every dollar you give will help us defend Emily, Andrea, and countless others against anti-Christian bias in our courts.