Jocelyn Szymanowski

Ferguson, Schetetelich & Ballew has recently completed a successful appeal preserving the property tax exemption of a historic church and its attached parsonage in Montgomery County.   Maryland law provides non-profit charitable organizations the right to apply for and receive a property tax exemption for the real property it owns and operates. The right to such an exemption is subject to specific statutory requirements.  Maryland law distinguishes the statutory requirements for the property tax exemption available to non-profits versus that available to churches and religious corporations.   Property owned by a nonprofit hospital, a nonprofit charitable, fraternal, educational, or literary…

The Bethesda Meeting House is one of the most historic churches in Maryland.  It is on the National Register of Historical Places and was originally the home of the Bethesda Presbyterian Church which was founded in 1746.  The church was built in 1820, and then restored after a fire in 1849.  A mance was constructed on the site in 1851 as the residence for its pastor, and later expanded into a parsonage.  In 1872, the community which had grown up around it was formally named Bethesda because of the Bethesda Meeting House. But the building has fallen into disrepair in…

As the COVID-19 vaccination program continues to roll out over the course of 2021, churches may be considering vaccination requirements for attendance at its religious services and events. This raises the question – is this legal, and if so, what are the possible implications? In general, churches and ministries can prevent attendees from participating in religious services and ministry activities if he or she has not been vaccinated, with some exemptions. It has become common during the COVID-19 pandemic for businesses, medical offices, and other public places to inquire about a person’s COVID-19 status. Screening questions such as whether someone…

The firm is proud to announce the publication of the first ever legal treatise on Maryland Church Law, written by Thomas Schetelich and Jocelyn Szymanowski.  The book, entitled Maryland Law of Religious Corporations, is being released in February 2021. The book traces the history of Maryland Church Law from colonial days, showing how it developed the first and the strongest tradition of religious toleration and religious freedom in the nation.  Its laws developed according to its own path, and created a structure unique to itself.  Yet, to date, there has been no text that treats all aspects of this law…

The Supreme Court’s decision in Espinoza vs. Montana Department of Revenue was a significant win for advocates of school choice and those who believe that faith-based schools should be able to more fully participate in government programs. In its landmark 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court was faced with a school choice program the State of Montana sought to eliminate because it had to include religious schools. The Court ruled that Montana had to maintain the program, and its act to eliminate a generally applicable benefit just to avoid participation by religious schools was a violation of the constitutional guarantee of…