Adventist Religious Liberty Leaders Welcome the End of Saturday Mail Service

Spectrum Staff | February 6, 2013

The United State Postal Service is expected to announce this week that its Saturday delivery of mail will cease in order to save about $2 billion. The religious liberty arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America released the following statement today.

In what Seventh-day Adventist Church Associate Counsel Todd McFarland hailed as “great news for Adventists and people who keep Sabbath throughout the United States,” the U.S. Postal Service announced today that it would cease Saturday mail delivery beginning August 1. Saturday package delivery will continue, and post offices will remain open on Saturdays, but with reduced hours.

The move was motivated by tens of billions of dollars in losses in recent years, and should save the agency about $2 billion a year. However the decision has a positive, albeit unintended, consequence as well.

“For decades the USPS has been the single most troublesome employer for those seeking Sabbath workplace accommodation. Halting Saturday delivery will not only prevent many future Sabbath observance conflicts for Adventists employed by the post office, but will help resolve current situations in which mail carrier-church members are experiencing discrimination,” said McFarland.

Other stories you might find interesting

Our Thanks and Gratitude for Those Who Gave

Spectrum Staff | December 4, 2015 | Post Archives

Remembering Not Only Great Disappointment, But Also Great Failure

Spectrum Staff | October 22, 2015 | Post Archives

I had a dream last night, a dream of General Conference Sessions past and future. I stood in the center of a stadium, packed with people, all captivated by the music and stagecraft in front of them. I looked around and felt a sadness that kept growing inside of me until it was overwhelming.

Religion Can Be Fun

Spectrum Staff | October 22, 2015 | Post Archives

Some time ago I was sitting in what quite possibly was the most boring church service I have ever been in. (No, I won’t tell you where I was.) There couldn’t have been more than 50 people in the sanctuary, and I’m being generous. We sang no less than 5 hymns. All hymns were sung in a dry, slow manner. The sermon seemed uninspired, barely prepared, and was presented with no sense of conviction. It felt like we were in church for three hours. We were in church for about 70 minutes.