Well, once again, an Austin church has made the news – and once again, it ain’t pretty.

Hope in the City, a non-denominational Christian church based in southwest Austin, is suing the city because the city fathers have refused to grant the growing congregation a permit to build a parking lot.

One the one hand, I can see the church’s point. Like any organization – a store, a restaurant, whatever – they want enough parking to accommodate their growing popularity. And I can understand the church suing the city if they think the city’s rules are wrong.

What I don’t see in this case is the church’s argument. The church’s lawyers contend that, because some of the church's more than 500 members can't park for Sunday services, their free exercise of religion is being illegally hindered.

File this under, “Gimme a Freakin’ Break.” Being beaten for worshipping is a hindrance. Getting tossed in jail for practicing your religion is a real hindrance. But not being able to park? A nuisance, maybe, but a hindrance? Not so much.

In 1992, Austin voters passed what is known as the SOS Ordinance. That law is designed to ensure that rainwater destined for the Barton Springs swimming hole is filtered through the ground. The law also limits how much impervious cover – such as parking lots – a landowner can have. The church owns a 12.4-acre tract that is home to two buildings originally developed as a warehouse and offices. The church has also exhausted its 15 percent maximum land cover allowed under the SOS ordinance.

Today, the church says it expects to grow to more than 1,000 congregants, and it wants to make sure all of them have room to park.

I’m no Constitutional scholar (I don’t even play one on TV) but the church’s argument that its First Amendment rights are being trampled by the city of Austin sounds kind of bogus to me. If you’re not familiar with this amendment (and, granted, it’s fallen out of favor in the past seven or so years but so far it’s still in effect) it says in part, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”

Now, maybe it’s because the Founding Fathers were from back east and they all took the subway to Constitution Hall. But no matter; even a cursory reading of this amendment shows that it clearly does not mention parking.

I’m not sure that Hope in the City could even find a Biblical leg to stand on. In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me;” he didn’t say, “and provide them with ample free parking.”