3Stories - February 1, 2026

Last year, a church in Flagler Beach, Florida, bought a former furniture store building in a strip mall in order to use it for worship services, according to The Christian Post.  Except for the space owned by the church, a company called Flagler Beach-Jax owns all the other spaces, also referred to as "condominiums."  The article noted:

The covenants that control the property state that, “All provisions of the Declaration shall be construed to be perpetual covenants running with the Land.” This means that even if a unit is sold, the covenants will still apply. One of the restrictions explicitly states that the condo units in the mall cannot be used as a “banquet hall, auditorium or other place of public assembly.”

The group sued the church, contending that the church would "overwhelm" the number of parking spaces available and reduce the center's property value.

Liberty Counsel, representing the church, contended, on its website:

The church, located in the Flagler Square strip mall, is facing a lawsuit from its property association Flagler Square – JAX, Inc. over alleged parking congestion and a condominium covenant that the association interprets as prohibiting “public assembly.” The church argues that the covenant is ambiguous, selectively enforced, and unlawful under both state and federal law. The association claims the church’s services “would overwhelm available parking at all times” despite Sunday services leaving more than 160 parking spots available. Notably, the condominium declaration also prohibits strip mall units from being used as discount stores, banquet halls, bingo parlors, or other places of public assembly. However, Flagler Square is home to a consignment store, and a Fraternal Order of Police lodge that regularly hosts bingo nights and rents their facility to the public for public assembly.

After a local court ordered the church cease holding worship services in the building, this past Friday, according to Liberty Counsel, "Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal granted an emergency motion allowing Coastal Family Church in Flagler Beach to resume church services after a lower court injunction barred the church from using its own property.   The Christian legal organization stated, "The Fifth District Court order staying the injunction states that if the temporary injunction 'was erroneously issued,' then the 'legal and actual harm' from barring the religious free exercise of congregants with sincerely held religious beliefs 'would be grievous and reach constitutional dimension.'”  The order from the appeals court stated, "Being deprived of this fundamental right—for even one additional Sunday—would do irreparable harm to [Coastal Family Church] and its congregants..."

While the response of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration to the abortion pill, its potential harmful effects toward women, and the reckless distribution of it, has been disappointing, there was one ray of light that emerged recently.  The Washington Stand reported:

The Department of Health and Human Services, through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), has issued a clear notice that pro-lifers will welcome: pharmacies nationwide are no longer required to supply the abortion drug.

Under the Biden administration, policies in favor of abortion dramatically increased. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision — which returned abortion regulation to the states and the people — the former administration issued guidance pressuring nearly 60,000 retail pharmacies to stock and dispense mifepristone and misoprostol for patients with Medicare, Medicaid, or other federally funded coverage. This move drew significant criticism and legal challenges from the onset, as many argued it overrode conscience rights and state laws.

Mary Szoch, Director of the Family Research Council's Center for Human Dignity, is quoted as saying: “I am so grateful that the Trump administration has recognized that the Biden administration’s policy of forcing pharmacies that received federal funds to stock the abortion drug, mifepristone, was a clear violation of conscience rights and of the Hyde Amendment protecting taxpayer dollars from paying for abortion.” 

The Babylon Bee's real-news site, Not the Bee, declared it plainly: "The Greater Than Campaign is a coalition designed to put the needs of children over the disordered desires of adults, specifically by pushing the Supreme Court to overturn the 2015 Obergefell decision.

The article went on to say, "Marriage and the family really matter. You might say they are the absolute core of all civilization...," adding, "Many differences of political/theological opinion are inconsequential next to the threat of the coordinated assault on marriage and family over the last century."

A press release from the organization leading the campaign, Them Before Us, led by Katy Faust listed several individuals and organizations involved, including Focus on the Family, the Colson Center, and Live Action.  It stated that Obergefell, "effectively made mothers and fathers optional in law in culture."  It went on to say:

By prioritizing children's inherent rights to both their mother and father–essential for their stability, identity, safety, and thriving–the campaign seeks to reverse the societal harms that have elevated adult desires over children's well-being.

Katy Faust, Founder and President of Them Before Us, states: "Ten years of Obergefell have shown us, loud and clear, that children deserve better and that they are Greater Than adult desires – and it’s time we make a change. Which is why this coalition of parents, faith leaders, influencers, nonprofits, and policy makers have linked arms to undo the harm of Obergefell, push [the U.S. Supreme Court] to overturn it, and to protect the rights of children nationwide."