St. Timothy's Episcopal Church responds to U.S. Dept. of Justice statement

BROOKINGS, Ore. – St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Brookings says it has been serving food and providing help for community members for over a decade.

Earlier this year, the city issued an abatement against the church to stop part of its community services after neighbors complained about the types of people being helped by the church.

“They passed an ordinance that says we can only provide two meals a week and only if we applied for the permit they made available for us.”

Father Bernie Lindley says the discourse between the church and the city has put a large strain on his friendships with the small city’s leaders.

“The city government, the people who work for the city, the people who are elected officials for the city over the course of the last 10 – 20 years, those people have been my friends,” Father Lindley said. “In fact, in some cases my friendships go back further than that. And because of this whole dispute we are going through and this lawsuit, I can’t really talk to my friends.”

The church has since moved to sue the city of Brookings, even demanding a trial in federal court. It has also filed an appeal with the city to overturn the abatement.

“When we feed people, that’s an extension of us practicing our faith.,” Father Lindley said.

In federal court Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a Statement of Interest in the case.

In the statement, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said discriminatory zoning restrictions, like the ones implemented by the city of Brookings, violate federal anti-discrimination laws.

Father Lindley says the Department of Justice’s statement means a lot for the impact this lawsuit has on constitutional freedoms.

“Here we are in little Brookings, Oregon and we have the United States Department of Justice taking up our side on an issue that could have national importance,” he told NBC5.

The US DOJ is now asking the federal judge to rule in St. Timothy’s favor.

Father Lindley says he expects to see more from the judge in the coming months.