Welcome to the Napa Legal Podcast, where we discussreligious liberty from the perspective of faith-based nonprofits.

In this week’s episode, Frank DeVito is joined by Alexa Kowalewski, a recent graduate of Notre Dame Law School. They cover three stories. First, a North Carolina town that is using its zoning code to evict a small church from a rented event space where theaters, wedding venues, and bars are all permitted. Second, a lawsuit by two Christian student groups at Virginia State University, which stripped Christian organizations of their independent status, placed them under a single campus minister, and exempted Muslim and other non-Christian groups. Third, an update on California’s lawsuit against Heartbeat International, in which the state is seeking more than $20 million in penalties and a gag order that would bar pro-life pregnancy centers from even telling women about abortion pill reversal.

In this episode, we discuss:

[1:50] True Worship Ministries, a congregation of 20 to 30 people in Troy, North Carolina, received a cease and desist letter ordering it to stop holding Sunday services in a rented community event space. Frank walks through First Liberty Institute’s response, which argues that the ordinance violates the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) because it allows nearly every secular use in the MainStreet district but bans churches.

[12:41] Women of Victory and Bethel Campus Fellowship,represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, sue Virginia State University over apolicy that took away Christian groups’ status as registered studentorganizations, cut their ties to national ministries, and gave one campusminister full control over their meetings, events, and speakers. Alexa explainsthe free speech, equal protection, and Establishment Clause claims, along withthe campus minister’s own explanation for why only Christian groups were affected.

[21:30] Heartbeat International’s Abortion Pill RescueNetwork connects women who regret taking the first abortion pill with localproviders of progesterone treatment. Frank highlights New Beginnings, a ruralArkansas affiliate, and explains why California’s use of consumer protectionlaw against nonprofit pregnancy centers could have nationwide consequences asthe trial court weighs closing arguments.

Lawyers: applications for the Good Counselor Project, NapaLegal’s fellowship for Christian attorneys, are open until December 1. Learnmore at https://www.napalegalinstitute.org/

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The Napa Legal Podcast, October 13, 2026

#religiousliberty #prolife #freedomofreligion