Dispatch Story.
- The Rev. Eric Williams, pastor of the North Congregational United Church of Christ on W. Henderson Road, said he had vaguely followed early news reports about C Street Center and, "at some point, I heard that C Street was a church - and that's what hooked me. The more I read about it, the more I discovered there is no transparency and there is clearly a blending of private influence with public officials."
He organized a group of activist pastors in Columbus who in recent years have fashioned themselves as watchdogs for the separation of church and state, filing IRS complaints twice against central Ohio churches they think improperly delved into politics.
In their complaint, the pastors cite news reports, property records, IRS regulations, congressional records and other sources to bolster their case that the C Street Center is not a church but a boardinghouse providing cheap rent for members of Congress.