There is a church, Crossroads United Methodist Church, which has been providing an outdoor worship service which includes a breakfast to the homeless and poor in north central Phoenix, Arizona since January 2009. The ministry is provided by a transdenominational group, called Prodigal House, representing over 20 different churches.
The neighbors are upset. They argue that the church by providing the meal with the worship service is violating the City of Phoenix’s charitable dining room code that restricts charitable dining halls to properties zoned as industrial use properties.
The church’s argument has several parts. One, serving food at a church is a normal activity of most churches. Crossroads church serves food on Wednesday evenings at its Bible study. When the city leadership was asked if this was a violation of city code, they answered, “Yes.” Second, it is the church’s mandate as given by its Founder, Jesus Christ, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and heal the broken-hearted. The Saturday morning activity fulfills the Church’s commission. Third, the city leadership has asked the faith community to step up during the current budget crisis and help it take care of the poor among us. The church is simply doing what the city leadership asked the faith community to do.
Today, one of the neighborhood leaders sent this out:
“Remember that a church is an allowed use in every residential, commercial and industrial district in the City. It will be potentially devastating for neighborhoods to lose this issue. Bad enough to deal with feeding of homeless on an unrestricted basis in any residential district. Once an unfavorable precedent would be established by a bad decision on this case, what could come next? Will a church want to have the current restrictions on shelters removed? How about Day Labor operations?”
The logic of this opposition is very strange. First, if Crossroad church was in a commercial or industrial district, there would be no problem. The church, as most churches, sits on land that is zoned residential.
Second, the issue is not serving the homeless. The issue has become does the city have power to define what ministries the church can perform and how they will perform those ministries? Does serving food at a Christmas banquet or a Shabbat celebration fall under the charitable dining hall designation. I have already heard of one church who cancelled its Sunday brunches because homeless people might attend and the city will show up and cite the church for violating the charitable dining hall statute. How sad is this! This is quickly becoming a First Amendment issue.
Third, the author of this email knows that ‘Day Labor” is a hot issue in this city. Why is this being put on the table? Anyone want to guess? This is called throwing heat on the issue without throwing anymore light on it. The issue of shelters for homeless is another red herring. Churches provide shelter to homeless families and have been commended for doing this. Just today, television news reports talked about how domestic violence shelters in this state are facing the likelihood of closing as the state budget continues to shrink. The state, the city and the community will not ask, they will expect and demand the faith community step up and take care of the situation. And the churches will step up as a part of their commitment to the Gospel. Will the city turn around and slap the hands of those whose faith tells them to care for the widow, the orphan and the fatherless just as it is being pressured to do in this situation?
I hope the city will realize that the current situation requires it provide guidelines that allow the faith community to meets both its spiritual and social obligation to care for the “poor among us.”
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