Open Letter to President Barack H. Obama *

the church at Salem

in exilium

William Raymond: pastor & ambassador for the Christ

WilliamRaymond@thechurchatSalem.info

www.thechurchatSalem.info

The Second day of the Second month in the
Year of our Sovereign Lord and Saviour, Jesus
the Christ, Two thousand nine.

Open Letter to President Barack H. Obama

Greetings in Christ to you President Obama;

First, may I congratulate you at this most unique and pivotal moment in American history. Because of you many are inspired and are now looking forward to a future they hope will be better than the oppressive days of their past. As for the church at Salem those days have indeed been oppressive.

On 03-24-05, after a protracted 6 year dispute with city and county officials in Salem, New Jersey, our church and parsonage along with all our family’s personal belongings were seized by the New Jersey State Police Counter Terrorism Division and the Salem County Sheriff’s Department. Also at the time of the seizure my wife and I were arrested on criminal charges and subsequently released.

To obtain the order of seizure from the court the City lied, citing false and spurious charges of tax evasion while purposely concealing the fact that we were a church. In a tape recorded meeting with city officials just minutes before the seizure, the mayor told us that their only reason for attacking Us was because we refused to incorporate like the other churches in Salem; and so therefore, they did not consider us to be a real church. However, when asked to cite the particular law they were invoking which required churches to incorporate, their lawyer admitted that he could not produce such a law. Should there ever be any doubt, these words spoken by Mayor Earl R. Gage and his attorney David J. Puma have stated for the record clearly and unequivocally why the the church at Salem was seized.

We invite you to visit our website (thechurchatSalem.info) where the entire matter is explained in greater detail, and where also we have posted a two part, 3 hour video documentary titled, Seized for Refusing to Incorporate - The Story of the church at Salem (thechurchatSalemvideo01.info/Video).

As you know, incorporating a church impresses upon her a distinct legal personality transforming
her into an artificial person. Effectively this nullifies the church’s God-given immunity and the First Amendment protection she would have otherwise retained. And so, from the beginning it has been our position that in obedience to Christ we could not and would not incorporate the church at Salem.

It is for this same reason we cannot participate in civil litigation or hire a lawyer since these are processes under jurisdiction of the court (appearance) whereby our Sovereign would become legally obligated and reduced to the mere status of an equal party under the law. Although perhaps it may not be common knowledge, it is a matter of record that the First Amendment shields non-consenting churches from both. See: Murphy v. Traylor, 292 Alabama 78; 289 So.2d 584, at 586, (1974); and, Mordecai Ham Evangelistic Association v. Matthews, 300 Ky. 402, at 406; 189 S.W.2d 524, at 526, (1945); and, Waushara County v. Graf, 157 Wisconsin 2d 539; 461 N.W.2d 143, (1990); and, EEOC v. Townley, 859 F.2d 610, (1988); and, Methodist Church of Newark v. Clark, 41 Mich. 730, 737.

Knowing we could not surrender the Sovereignty of Christ by appearing in court to defend Him - or ourselves as His ambassadors - our attackers employed a strategy of exparte process while ignoring the laws they themselves were breaking with impunity. The fact that we posed no threat other than passive resistance made it easy for them to commit this sacrilege and afterwards, easy for them and everyone else to pretend it just never happened. Long term friendships and family bonds have been destroyed over this seizure - a personal cost I am reminded of every day of my life. If the elimination of property taxes had been our only purpose, as lawyer Puma once insultingly stated, we could have easily obtained a 501 (c) (3) IRS classification and avoided the 6 years worth of persecution and slander we endured from the City and their local newspaper, Today’s Sunbeam. Conveniently, our critics always seem to overlook this. All our efforts, so far, to bring this matter before any oversight or regulatory bodies have fallen upon deaf ears. At this point it would appear as though we are in a sort of legal catch-22 not knowing what, if any, opportunities for redress may be available. Still, considering the scope of the injustice suffered by our Sovereign and ourselves, we must keep hope alive that somehow there is a way to rectify this incredible injury, and to restore that which has so obviously been stolen from Christ and His body. To sum it all up in the simplest terms: as the unmingled church of Jesus Christ, we were willfully and knowingly held to a legal standard that did not apply to us; by and through a conspiracy of corrupt government officials who were determined to destroy a small community church and the lives of those whom Christ Called to Establish it. It has been your words - specifically your stated commitment to provide an accountable and transparent government on behalf of the people - that encourages me now as I write this letter to you. Therefore, I beseech you in the Name of our Sovereign Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ, to exercise your plenipotentiary powers of the President and call for a full-scale investigation into the seizure of the church at Salem. To this end I will be happy to assist those whomever you call upon to look into this matter. Meanwhile, we shall continue to sojourn in exile for His glory and honor, as we await with great anticipation your honorable reply. May the blessings of our Sovereign Lord and King, Jesus the Christ, be upon you and all that your hands find to do as the 44th President of the United States of America.

With warm regards,

William Raymond: pastor & ambassador for the Christ

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Seventy three (73) days later, having received no response
from the White House, we sent our first follow-up
letter (below) to Mister Obama.

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the church at Salem

in exilium

William Raymond: pastor & ambassador for the Christ

WilliamRaymond@thechurchatSalem.info

www.thechurchatSalem.info

The Fifteenth day of the Fourth month in the
Year of our Sovereign Lord and Saviour, Jesus
the Christ, Two thousand nine.

Open Letter to President Barack H. Obama
(First follow-up)

Greetings in Christ to you President Obama;

Enclosed, is a copy of a letter dated 02-02-09 that was sent via U.S. Mail and also by email to the White House website. So far we have received no response. In the event both letters somehow failed to reach you, I am resending them at this time. Thank you for your attention to this most critical matter.

With warm regards,

William Raymond: pastor & ambassador for the Christ

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One hundred and three (103) days after sending our original
Open Letter to President Barack H. Obama, still having received no
response from the White House, we sent our second (2nd)
follow-up letter (below) to Mister Obama.

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the church at Salem

in exilium

William Raymond: pastor & ambassador for the Christ

WilliamRaymond@thechurchatSalem.info

www.thechurchatSalem.info

The Fifteenth day of the Fifth month in the
Year of our Sovereign Lord and Saviour, Jesus
the Christ, Two thousand nine.

Open Letter to President Barack H. Obama

Second (2nd) follow-up letter

Greetings in Christ to you President Obama:

I am now for a second (2nd) time writing to let you know we are still waiting to receive your response to our letter dated 02-02-09 that was sent to you via U.S. Mail and also by email to the White House website, and which also was designated a “most critical matter”.

Would you please respond to our letter.

Thank you.

With warm regards,
William Raymond: pastor & ambassador for the Christ

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One hundred and thirty three (133) days after sending our original
Open Letter to President Barack H. Obama, still having received no
response from the White House, we sent our third (3rd)
follow-up letter (below) to Mister Obama.

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