Christian Group Defies City on Permits

Los Angeles Times, October 14, 1997
By John Canalis

A leader of the Piecemakers, a communal Christian group that earns a living making crafts, said her group will continue to defy city codes that it believes interfere with God's law.

Members admit that they refused to apply for a required $100 permit for a Harvest Festival held over the weekend, an event that drew thousands. This is the second such violation in a month.

"The $100 is a big joke," said longtime member Marie Kolasinski. "We listen to God and not man, and God is leading us."

City officials said they are investigating. The city and the Piecemakers, who live communally in Mesa Verde, long have been at odds.

Kolasinski said her group wants to be left alone to run its successful Piecemakers Country Store on Adams Avenue. "We won't let the government . . . tell us how to run our Ark, our little vineyard that God gave us," she said.