Glenn Beck Pledges Funds To Colorado Women's Shelter That Mandated Bible Studies, Lost Federal Funding (VIDEO)

A women's shelter in Colorado Springs lost federal funding recently after the executive director there refused to halt mandatory Bible studies for its patrons.

Rev. Marilyn Vyzourek, the executive director of Gospel Shelters for Women, runs Liza's Place, a six-month residential program aimed at rehabilitating women. Among other elements, the program's website explains residents are expected to attend:

12 classes and Bible Studies a week, 12-Step meetings, Spiritual Counseling & Mentoring, Church Attendance, Apartment Hunting, Case Management, Organized Bible Study, Job Placement, and Living Skills Classes

The center received between $50,000 and $55,000 of federal funding each year because officials believed the Bible studies were optional. "They wanted me to get some of the Christianity out of the program, and we just can't do that," Vyzourek told Fox21. "The meat of what we do here is the Bible studies."

Bob Holmes, the man charged with distributing $1.88 million in federal funding to El Paso County housing nonprofits explains: "HUD is very, very, very strict, very unequivocal, about programs have to be of a secular nature," he told the Gazette in early November. "[Vyzourek] made a well-informed decision that she needed to stand up for what she believed in, and we respect that... But to continue to fund her knowing what we know would have jeopardized our entire HUD funding."

News of the lost funding riled up organizations such as The Blaze, a conservative blog owned by Glenn Beck, who responded by calling Vyzourek and pledging to privately donate $55,000 to the center.

In a video from Beck's radio program (below), Beck interviews Vyzourek in front of his infamous chalkboard -- scrawled with the date "November 14th" and two contrasting options: "Rape, Drugs, Death, Hate" OR "Faith, Hope, Charity."

Speaking of Beck's $55,000 pledge to Vyzourek, Stu Burguiere, Beck's producer: "Wow, what government program just mandated that you did that?"
Beck: "There's not. And you know what? You know when this government becomes completely irrelevant? Is when we then look at each other and they say, 'we're going to cut your funding,' and we say, 'oh, are you? Oh, ok -- GET OUT. We're not changing what we believe in, we will NOT be slaves. You don't want us to talk about Jesus? Oh jeez. What are they afraid of? You talk about Jesus, what are we going to have a cattle prod? You go in for a bowl of soup, what are they going to do? What's it going to be like, what are you afraid of?"

The program then jumps to an imagined conversation between an impoverished person asking for food and someone with a cattle prod forcing them to say "Jesus." (6:34 into the video)

Comments

[pinkSugar]

11:06 AM on 03/16/2012

So we ALL wrote to our Congressmen and told them we Do NOT want any of our US Tax dollars to go to funding the rehab and remodeling of all those Mosques overseas, right?

[azdirk]

09:43 AM on 11/18/2011

Christians should realize that how they live is more important than preaching all the time. What this means is that the shelter is there to preach, an admiral process, but not what the government should be about. My own take on this is that if someone starts out a statement with "I'm a Christian, and. . .", I often have to watch my wallet and my back.

[Missy Vague]

09:30 AM on 11/18/2011

Well Glenn, you have the money, and it is good that you donated it.

[truly moderate]

04:18 AM on 11/18/2011

Faith is demonstrated more through actions than words. A loss of funding would have meant a reduction of the program to carry out the actions needed. You can't force people to come to Christ, but through genuine works, people of their own will, can come to discover faith. Just my view. The center should have made bible study optional. Also, forcing people into faith can make them more resistant to it in the end. Non fundamentalist Christian here.

[ForVivi]

03:52 PM on 11/16/2011

...and he gets a tax break.

[Durango]

03:28 PM on 11/16/2011

This is a subject i happen to know about.

Making help to survivors of domestic violence contingent on Bible study is not only wrong when using tax dollars, see First Amendment.

It is completely UnChristian.

You should help people because they need help and you can help them. If you are a Christian, it is your duty.

If the women CHOOSE to attend, that is a completely different matter.

[No Longer Amused 25]

03:32 PM on 11/16/2011

"This is a subject I happen to know about."

LOL! Ha! Bullshi#. There is no subject I've seen yet that you know anything about including anything to do with the extraction of oil and gas.

[Durango]

03:37 PM on 11/16/2011

You on the other hand are not afraid to show your ignorance.

[Nana1]

11:38 AM on 11/16/2011

Okay...did the shelter actually get a check from Beck or is "the check in the mail"? I understand that Beck has a bad habit of not following thru on his "contributions." I wish them luck in collecting as I believe that private contributions should support religious organizations and not tax payer dollars.

[Daveatthedoor]

12:42 PM on 11/16/2011

This story is from my town, Colorado Springs, I will try to verify....I agree..Whats the status of the Glenn Beck Disaster Response Team?.....Im thinking nothing...

[Sharon Hunt]

09:38 PM on 11/16/2011

I agree with you. I look forward to the update.

[Gena Berglund]

11:32 AM on 11/16/2011

The Government has to pull funding. If they don't, they get sued and lose. Why? Establishment Clause. First Amendment. End of Story. It is how it is. Founding Fathers said so. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Establishment_Clause

[Glenn Osborne]

08:57 AM on 11/16/2011

This is how it should be. Religious organizations should be privately funded. They still get a government subsidy in the form of a tax exemption. And Mr Beck gets a tax write off.

[Durango]

03:32 PM on 11/16/2011

That is not right.

Religious organizations have as much right to receive tax funding for providing services as any other organization.

They should not be allowed to make that help contingent on anyone's religious beliefs or make attendance of religious study or worship mandatory.

There are plenty of religious organizations out there doing excellent work AND obeying the law.

This is the exception, not the rule.

[Glenn Osborne]

10:04 PM on 11/16/2011

All I am against is tax dollars being used to promote religion. If people want to promote their religion they need to pay for it themselves, and apparently that is what is happening here. I believe in a distinct lines between church and state.

[sachazg]

02:02 AM on 11/16/2011

Separation of church and state is there for a reason. Why is this BS tax exempt? Government should only fund NON religious entities. Period.

[Tammy Tyler Palmisano]

03:26 AM on 11/16/2011

why because only non believers pay taxes...

[mixahman]

04:03 AM on 11/16/2011

No... because Separation of Church and State, are you not paying attention?

[Durango]

03:36 PM on 11/16/2011

First, a religious group is no different from any other 501c3 entity that is tax exampt when they are doing charity work like this shelter.

You CANNOT discriminate against any organization because of its religious affiliation.

But they do need to follow the rules and the law.

Which this group clearly is not.

And why are religious institutions tax exempt?

Because the power to tax is the power to destroy. And the First Amendment prohibits the government from interfering in the free exercise of any, and everyone's religion.

[member2breathe]

01:20 AM on 11/16/2011

The decision is an example of the active dynamic in process of the 'separation of church and state' which simply stated that the religious part of the program be "voluntary" in order to receive public funds! To claim the crux of the program is christian in nature is a equally a simple declaration of church which therefore is not entitled to public funds but could conceivably have a tax free status! That beck pounced on this as some example of government disregarding it's people or some such is patent showmanship for his audience. What is really the crux here has been stated by others the hand of help is offered in velvet steel grip of indoctrinating the vulnerable, damaged and needy with a morality pinch: believe or fail! In my humble but immodest opinion if one is truly on a mission to help that segment of our population it should come free of specious persuasions.

[Nicholas Kocal]

12:54 AM on 11/16/2011

Of course next year when they need funds again is Beck going to donate again or is this a one time publicity stunt. From Matthew

1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

[snakpak]

07:36 PM on 11/15/2011

I thought only the government could help people. How can a person donate their personal money to a good cause, is that even possible? I thought the only way to do good is take money from people, give it to the government, and after they take it all for themselves and unions, they give the rest away to buy votes.

[Durango]

04:03 PM on 11/16/2011

Without government support womens shelters around the nation would shut down.

They CANNOT rely on private donations.

Too bad you don't know that.

[Durango]

05:22 PM on 11/16/2011

BTW.

Hope you have sent that check to your local shelter for survivors of domestic violence.

Put your money where your BIG MOUTH is.

[pfreddie88]

07:17 PM on 11/15/2011

I think it's wonderful that he gave moeny. Probably the most worthwhile thing he did all year. That's what should happen with a shelter where religious activities are compulsory.

[mtnlife96]

05:37 PM on 11/15/2011

Odd how Beckie, who has been on the big friend of Israel kick, would rush to the rescue of a shelter that makes no provision for Jews.

[roald]

04:33 PM on 11/17/2011

To people like Beck, the Jews have value only to keep the Muslims out and to hasten the end times.

[mtnlife96]

09:19 PM on 11/17/2011

You and I and many millions more understand that whole Israel as a means to end for the end of days insanity but, I am consistently surprised when people like Beck (and so many other rightwingnuts) have the support of the very people that they place such lack of value on....amazing.