Photo courtesy of Bernie Lindley
Nine months after a federal judge sided with St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, the Brookings City Council last week repealed the ordinance that prompted the church to sue back in 2022.
Councilors unanimously approved an ordinance repealing its benevolent meal service ordinance without comment at their Nov. 25 meeting. The decision comes after the city reached a settlement agreement with St. Timothy’s that had it paying $357,000 to Stoel Rives LLP, the law firm that represented the church before U.S. Magistrate Mark D. Clarke in Medford on Feb. 15, and $43,000 to the Oregon Justice Resource Center.
Repealing the benevolent meal service ordinance was part of that settlement agreement, the church’s pastor, Rev. Bernie Lindley told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.
In its settlement agreement with St. Timothy’s, the city also agreed to withdraw an April 2023 abatement notice it issued to the church in response to its other social services, including its legal aid ministry.
Brookings benevolent meal service ordinance sought to restrict when charitable organizations can feed the hungry. Initially, the ordinance required a conditional use permit that limited organizations to providing two meal services per week.
In November 2023, the Brookings City Council amended the ordinance to offer benevolent meal services up to three days per week.
Clarke, who is the U.S. Magistrate for the U.S. District Court of the District of Oregon, ruled on March 27 that the ordinance violated the Religious Land Use & Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. The judge stated that St. Timothy’s Soup Kitchen ministry is a sincerely held religious belief and that Brookings’ restrictions imposed a substantial burden on the exercise of that belief.
In his ruling, Clarke wrote that the ordinance forced St. Timothy’s volunteers and representatives to choose between acting in accordance with their faith or face a $720 per-day fine.
Nine months after that ruling, Lindley said nothing has changed at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church.
“It’s not like we decided victory’s on our side, we’ll show them and we’re going to do more,” he told Redwood Voice. “We’re just going about the same thing we’ve been doing. We’re not trying to increase the number of meals we serve or anything like that because we don’t need to.”
Lindley said he still wants to work with Brookings, particularly the new city manager Tim Rundell, on partnering with the city to open an emergency warming shelter this winter.
According to Lindley, a 42-year-old man, Ryan Lile, died during the recent bomb cyclone that impacted Southern Oregon.
Lile was found deceased in his tent in a wooded area near the 1600 block of U.S. 101 in Harbor, Oregon, according to Lt. John Ensley, of the Curry County Sheriff’s Office.
There were no signs of trauma to Liles’ body and the death does not appear to be weather-related, according to Ensley.
“An exam of Lile’s body was done by the Medical Examiner’s Office and a toxicology fluid draw was taken. We are waiting for the report and the results,” Ensley told Redwood Voice via email on Monday. “There have been no weather-[related] deaths reported to the Curry County Sheriff’s Office.”
According to Lindley, however, if there had been a winter warming shelter available, Lile may not have perished. Lindley said Lile had lived in the community for about 20 years and had worked for him “back in the day.” Lindley said he also knew Lile’s brother.
“We would like to be able to participate in a community-wide effort to create an emergency warming shelter for people who could potentially freeze to death,” Lindley said.
