Twenty women, some with arthritis, had for years been using the Central Southland Presbyterian Parish hall to practise the martial art, known for its slow and gentle movements. But the parish council says they can no longer do so because tai chi doesn't fit with the church's values, The Southland Times reports . "As church leaders we need to look after everyone in the parish, and their spiritual wellbeing," John Willis, the parish council's clerk, tells the paper. "The first commandment is that we must honour God and have no other God before us, and having come from Taoism tai chi is promoting another God."