On September 1, 2026, the Maine Supreme Court upheld a ruling that prohibited a mother from taking her daughter to church.
Emily Bickford stood before the top authorities in the state. She was there to challenge a December 2024 custody order in which lower courts had sided with her child’s father, Matthew Bradeen, to prevent Ms. Bickford from taking their daughter to church. They named one church in particular—Calvary Chapel Greater Portland (CCGP).
The district judge had decided that some of the CCGP’s teachings were psychologically harmful to the 12-year-old girl. Court documents labeled Calvary Chapel a “cult.” They also inculcated Travis Carey, the lead pastor, of teaching about hell in a way that caused the girl to have anxiety about her father’s eternal life.
The ruling awarded sole discretion regarding her involvement with Calvary Chapel—as well as medical decisions for their daughter—to her father. In all other matters, the parents continue to share rights. Attorney Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel represented the Bickfords. He argued that the lower court’s decision violates her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
“This is a nuclear option, where you give total authority to one parent to make decisions regarding religion over the other parent, who’s a fit parent,” the attorney told media gathered outside the courtroom following the judicial proceedings.
The court documents claimed “Bradeen is better situated than Bickford is to evaluate the child’s participation in religious activities and to determine whether certain activities are in the child’s best interest.”
Liberty Counsel announced it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. "This opinion rejects the First Amendment right of a fit parent to raise her child consistent with her Christian faith," Staver said in a statement. “We will ask the High Court to take this case and overrule the decision."
Please pray for Emily Bickford and her daughter.
© 2026 Calvary Chapel Magazine (CCM). All rights reserved. Articles or photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of CCM. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.® Used by permission.