City Ordinance Restricts Church From Feeding People

 An Oregon church is suing the coastal city of Brookings, arguing that an ordinance restricting the church's meal program for the unhoused violates its right to religious freedom.

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon filed the lawsuit against the city Jan. 28. "We've been serving our community here for decades and picking up the slack where the need exists and no one else is stepping in," said the Rev. James Bernard Lindley, vicar of St.Timothy's.

The lawsuit claims that the ordinance--which limited the church to offering free meals just twice a week--interferes with the church's fundamental beliefs of "feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and sheltering the houseless." St. Timothy's as been serving meals four days a week so that people can have access to at least one hot, nutritious meal." The lawsuit says the city violated the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution."

The lawsuit notes that the city received a petition on April 2021 from about 30 residents saying the free meals drew "vagrants or undesirables." St. Timothy parishioners say they are following the teachings of Jesus when they provide food to their community. "Providing hospitality to all who enter St. Timothy's in search of help is integral to out beliefs."