Pennsylvania Town Issues Citation Against Local Churches Providing Food, Counseling to Community

Public officials in the Philadelphia suburb of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, recently issued a citation against two churches operating ministries in their community.

NPR affiliate WHYY reports that the churches were cited for violating the city’s zoning code by offering free meals and providing mental health services.

The Pottstown Zoning Officer reportedly cited an Episcopal church and a United Methodist church for the violations.

“Violations” listed on the citation include:

  • Providing free counseling and support for families.
  • Providing soap, razors, toothbrushes, deodorant, toilet paper, phone chargers, and canned goods to the public.
  • Providing weekly buffet style meals for the public.

The citation draws from the city zoning code that defines a church as “A building wherein persons assemble regularly for religious worship and that is used only for such purposes and for those accessory activities as are customarily associated therewith.”

The citation gave the ministries 30 days to apply for a zoning permit with the city or cease and desist these services.

If the churches failed to do so, they could be fined up to $500. The Episcopal News Service reports that the churches do not intend to stop the programs or apply for additional permits.

Churches should not be threatened with fines simply for giving food and basic necessities to the needy.

Stories like this one underscore why it is so important for states to safeguard the free exercise of religion.

In 2016 the Arkansas Department of Health told a Carroll County food ministry that it could not serve soup to the homeless unless the soup was “prepared in an institutional kitchen and served in the same building.”

Fortunately, a religious freedom restoration law the Arkansas Legislature passed in 2015 helped protect that ministry.

Last year the Arkansas Legislature voted to place the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment on the 2022 ballot. If passed, it would enshrine many of the same religious liberty protections from the 2015 law into the Arkansas Constitution.

You Can Learn More About the Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment Here.

Religious Freedom Law Lets AR Ministry Continue Serving Those in Need

Rep. BallingerA Christian outreach in Carroll County is continuing to serve those in need thanks in part to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act the Arkansas Legislature passed last year.

The law prevents state government from burdening a person’s free exercise of religion unless it has a compelling governmental interest at stake.

In this case, A Cup of Love Ministry–which serves food to those in need–was told by the state Department of Health that if it was going to serve soup to the homeless, the soup had to “be prepared in an institutional kitchen and served in the same building.”

Rep. Bob Ballinger (R-Hindsville) who sponsored the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015 told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette“It was a perfect example of government having too much regulation and not enough reason. For any government to try to shut down a person who’s just trying to feed the homeless, it’s pretty foolish. The Health Department was very willing to work with us.”

The story is reminiscent of a case in Texas from a few years ago: The City of Dallas passed an ordinance effectively preventing several ministries from providing food to the homeless within city limits. In that case, the Texas ministries actually sued the city under Texas’ Religious Freedom Restoration Act; ultimately, the court ruled these ministries could continue feeding the homeless.

Two-thirds of Arkansans Support New Religious Freedom Law

If you support religious freedom in Arkansas, you are not alone. Nearly two out of three likely voters in Arkansas support the state’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and more than half believe a business-owner (such as a caterer or florist) with religious objections to same-sex marriage “should be allowed to refuse to those services to same-sex couples.”

The findings are the result of a poll commissioned by Talk Business, Hendrix College, and Impact Management Group.

The poll indicates Arkansans strongly support religious liberty; in fact, less than half of Arkansans under 30 expressed that businesses ought to be required to provide “services to same-sex couples.”

What’s striking about the survey are its findings despite its wording. According to the survey’s authors, one key survey question was taken verbatim from a CNN poll conducted last spring. The question reads,

“If a business provides wedding services, such as catering or flowers, should it be allowed to refuse those services to same-sex couples for religious reasons, or be required to provide those services as it would to all other customers?”

The phrases “refuse services to same-sex couples” and “as it would to all other customers” slant the question significantly, missing the point: That this is about the impact of same-sex marriage on religious liberty.

Here is what we mean:

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