A Brookings church is fighting back against an abatement order for the social services it offers, including feeding the unhoused. St. Timothy s Episcopal Church faced an abatement order from the City of Brookings on April 14, referencing section 17.01.040 of the Brookings municipal code and claiming that the church violated the code by providing a "benevolent meal service" without a conditional use permit. The notice said that if the church failed to abate, they would face a fine of $720 a day.
(RNS) The lawsuit claims an ordinance limiting 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.’
The city council in Brookings, Oregon, approved a limitation that churches in the area can only offer free meals to the homeless just twice a week. The
It’s Saturday afternoon, and members and volunteers of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church are huddled at a picnic bench under a stately tree, steaming plates of ribs and calzone before them.