Los Angeles ? Rector J. Edwin Bacon told parishioners Sunday that All Saints Episcopal Church has received “a surprising outpouring of solidarity and support” since he revealed that the liberal church may lose its tax-exempt status because of an IRS probe.

In a sermon titled “The IRS Goes to Church,” Bacon said support has come from Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, First Amendment scholars, and heads of secular nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations.

Last Sunday, the rector revealed that the Internal Revenue Service had launched its inquiry after former rector George Regas delivered an anti-war sermon on the eve of the 2004 presidential election.

The IRS claims the sermon, which chided President Bush for the war in Iraq, might have violated the ban on “campaign intervention” by nonprofit organizations, including churches.