Jilted church sues University of Maine over rescinded bid

Churches sometimes field complaints from their communities about additional traffic and noise from worship and other activities. But in one small Maine town, a significant number of residents say a church, at least one that supports Biblical teaching on marriage and sexuality, has no place in the community.

In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, Calvary Chapel Belfast contends that the University of Maine committed unconstitutional religious discrimination by rescinding the church’s winning bid in a property sale because of the church’s Christian beliefs.

According to the complaint, the church of approximately 200 members submitted a bid to buy the university-owned Frederick Hutchinson Center in July. UMaine accepted the offer in August over two other bids for the now largely vacant property.

The university built the building in 2000 and added to it in 2007. It served as a hub for continuing education and community events, but the school stopped using the 30,500-square-foot facility in 2023 after many classes went online during the pandemic—and then stayed online. The church saw the property as ideal for worship and community outreach, including a homeschool co-op and an addiction recovery ministry. In anticipation of the purchase, the church sold its existing property, secured other temporary meeting space, and arranged financing.

Just days later, one of the two losing bidders, Future of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee and Waterfall Arts, protested the bid. In its protest letter, the group argued that the church, which would continue to house a university internet hub in the building, could not guarantee nondiscrimination.

Waldo Community Action Partners (WCAP) voiced similar concerns in its letter contesting the bid. “[Calvary Chapel Belfast] and its parent and sister organizations have advocated on their websites against non-male/female sexual relationships and marriage,” WCAP wrote. It added that a church “by its very design could be perceived as limiting to some in the community (real or perceived) and not in alignment with the university’s intentions as outlined in its nondiscrimination section of the lease.”

A news article on the pending sale stoked even more opposition in the coastal town of just over 7,000 people. According to the complaint, one social media post accused the church of being “just another religious cult that believes in magical thinking.” Another said the university was “enabling another fascist factory.”

Chip Curry, a Democratic state senator who sits on the board of WCAP, warned in March that he did not want a religious group buying the building. When the state Legislature was considering a bill to transfer the center’s ownership to the city, Curry said that “transferring [the Hutchinson Center] from public access and gifting it to a religious organization, any religious organization, seems completely inappropriate.” The Portland Press Herald reprinted the comment on Aug. 21, further fueling opposition.

The school initially held firm, but after opponents protested and appealed to Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Ryan Low, UMaine rescinded the bid award. Low said his decision was in the best interest of the internet hub without giving further explanation. Nor did he seek to negotiate any issues with the church, which had agreed to continue to host the hub.

University officials launched a second bid process in early October, and even though the church submitted a bid, it lost out to WCAP, which offered $3,060,000—nearly triple its earlier bid of $1,000,000.

According to Daniel Schmid, an attorney with Orlando-based Liberty Counsel who represented the church, the whole process smacked of religious bias.

“They didn’t like the pressure from a state senator who said it’s inappropriate to sell to a religious entity,” said Schmid. “They created this fiction so they could get rid of it and start all over. And then in the second, rigged bidding process they made sure the church couldn’t prevail.”

Along with filing the complaint, Schmid filed a motion that asked the court to temporarily stop the sale to WCAP until the lawsuit could be resolved. But at a status conference Wednesday afternoon, he said the court found it unnecessary to rule on the motion because university attorneys said the sale would be on hold until a university administrator rules on the church’s appeal.

Schmid was not optimistic that the appeal to Vice Chancellor Low would end up favorable to the church. But for now, he welcomed the hold and said the church would proceed with its motion to block the sale if the ruling was not favorable.

“Even if the government doesn’t outright say it themselves, they can’t rely on outrage and religious animosity in the community to rescind an otherwise valid bid that complied with the process,” he said. “That’s what happened here, and that’s an equal protection violation, it’s a free exercise violation, and it’s a violation of all manner of state laws that are contract-based.”

A spokesperson for UMaine declined to comment on the lawsuit but pointed to a prepared statement issued Tuesday that the university was still reviewing the complaint and “strongly disagrees with any allegations of discrimination.” In a status report filed with the court Thursday afternoon, university attorneys confirmed that no action would be taken to finalize the sale until the internal appeal process was complete.

Schmid cited an increase in hostility toward churches in the New England area in general. He said Calvary Chapel Belfast is experiencing a symptom of the area’s secularization. “They’re trying to come in and help the community,” he said. “And because of that, they’re met with scorn and vitriol because of their convictions.”