BROOKINGS, Ore. — An Oregon church has won its court battle to allow it to keep feeding homeless people. It's something they've been doing for more than a decade, but the city of Brookings tried to limit their work.
This long legal battle all started back in October 2021 when Brookings City Council approved an ordinance stopping churches from giving out free food in residential areas without a permit.
This quickly upset Rev. Lindley from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, who said feeding people is an essential part of their faith.
"That's the way we express our faith: by caring for people who are on the margins, especially people who are hungry," he said.
St. Timothy's Episcopal Church has been a staple for those in need in Brookings, Oregon, serving free meals since 2009. During the pandemic, they upped services to meet demand, serving meals 6 days a week, but neighbors began to complain to the city about the gathering of homeless people. Some added that the homeless residents were bringing crime to the area and camping at the church.
The city gave in, and in October 2021, it approved an ordinance banning churches from giving out free food in residential areas without a permit. It also stopped the church from serving food more than two days a week.
St. Timothy Episcopal Church ended up suing the city of Brookings, stating the ordinance violated their right to practice their religion freely.
"We knew that we weren't going to be able to comply with their ordinance," said Lindley. "We knew that it was unconstitutional, so we reluctantly filed a lawsuit."
On Wednesday, Judge Mark Clarke officially agreed with Lindley, siding with St. Timothy's in his ruling. The federal judge said the city has not provided a good enough reason to limit the days they can serve free meals.
Lindley said all of this legal back-and-forth is a distraction.
"When we are involved in a lawsuit, we can't talk," said Lindley. "We have to talk through our lawyers, which is not an official way to make our community a better place."
The legal battle for St. Timothy's Episcopal Church isn't over yet: Right now, the city of Brookings has an abatement in place. The city is currently asking the church to stop shower and advocacy services also bringing in homeless people into the neighborhood. St. Timothy's has appealed the abatement.