Places of Worship Try to Help the Homeless. Zoning Police Get in the Way.

So tell them that you're conducting an all-night prayer vigil!

Today (January 23, 2024), the Associated Press is carrying a story about a Bryan, Ohio church becoming a shelter for the homeless. The headline: “A pastor and a small Ohio city tussle over the legality of his 24/7 homeless ministry.”

An excerpt: “Police this month filed 18 criminal charges against Dad’s Place church Pastor Chris Avell over allegations the rented church building — located next to a separate homeless shelter along Main Street in Bryan, a city of about 8,600 in northwestern Ohio — was violating the zoning ordinance, lacked proper kitchen and laundry facilities, and had unsafe exits and inadequate ventilation.”

Dad’s Place now has countered with a federal lawsuit against the city.

Many years ago, I was nominally associated with a place of worship in a nearby town.

They encountered an almost identical problem.

Their offer to the homeless of a place to sleep one night per week during the winter months drew the ire – and menace – of the local zoning officials.

The chair of the lay leadership committee asked me what I thought they and the minister should do.

I ruminated about it for a bit. “First amendment,” I finally smiled.

“First amendment?” he asked incredulously. “What do sleepovers have to do with freedom of religion?”

“Everything,” I answered. “Tell the zoning people that you’re conducting an all-night prayer vigil. If a few people happen to doze off, well, that’s the way it goes.”

So that’s what they did.

The zoning officials relented.

From there, it got better. Seven churches from around the county banded together and – with the cooperation of local officials in their respective communities – took turns hosting the unhoused one night per week during bitter weather.

Call it……..progress.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/ohio-church-homeless-ministry-39c207e12d67deef89097852eb284580