{"id":20658,"date":"2024-01-31T14:57:42","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T19:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=20658"},"modified":"2024-01-31T14:57:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T19:57:42","slug":"pastor-fights-back-after-being-charged-for-housing-homeless-in-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/01\/pastor-fights-back-after-being-charged-for-housing-homeless-in-church","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Fights Back After Being Charged For Housing Homeless in Church"},"content":{"rendered":"
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First Liberty Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ohio pastor Chris Avell is fighting back after being charged with breaking municipal laws. Avell pastors Dad\u2019s Place in Bryan, OH and opened his church 24\/7 to the homeless in March 2023. Since then, 18 charges were filed against the pastor, including charges of violating the city\u2019s ordinances, improper ventilation, and having unsafe exits. Lavell pled not guilty to the charges on January 11. His church has responded by filing a federal lawsuit against the city, alleging it violated Lavell\u2019s religious rights. The lawsuit affirms, \u201cNo history or tradition justifies the city\u2019s intrusion into the church\u2019s inner sanctum to dictate which rooms may be used for religious purposes, how the church may go about accomplishing its religious mission, or at what hours of the day religious activities are permitted.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the church, even after it had tried to address some of the violations, including installing a stove hood in its kitchen, officers continued to harass the church. \u201cNothing satisfies the city. And worse \u2014 they go on a smear campaign of innuendo and half-truths,\u201d said<\/a> the church\u2019s lawyer, Jeremy Dys. \u201cI truly believe that everyone who walks through the door of Dad\u2019s Place walks out a better citizen,\u201d said Lavell.<\/p>\n

The church has been operating since 2018. The building is in a C-3 central business zoning district, which prohibits eating, sleeping, or washing on property grounds. The church has offered numerous services to the community, including free haircuts and a warming center. According to Lavell, after the church decided to stay open, they began receiving referrals from all over the city. \u201cIt was city police officers who would bring people by. The local hospital would call and bring people by. Other homeless shelters would call and bring people by,\u201d he said. Anyone can stay at the church, unless for safety reasons, and two volunteers man the church during the hours when people are staying.<\/p>\n

The church is currently seeking an injunction against the city and will remain open at least until March 4, when a judge will decide whether or not to grant the injunction. \u201cChurches throughout history have been a shelter for anyone seeking a place of safety, and Dad\u2019s Place is no exception,\u201d Philip Williamson of Taft Stettinius & Hollister, a firm representing the church, said in a press release. \u201cOhio and federal law alike protect vital ministries like Dad\u2019s Place, and we look forward to defending those rights.\u201d The city has denied the church\u2019s allegations of harassment. \u201cWe absolutely deny any allegation that the city has treated any religious institution inappropriately. The city has been and continues to be interested in any business, any church, any entity complying with local and state law,\u201d said city attorney Marc Fishel. City officials also state that an increase in criminal activity and police calls to the church were the cause of the city citing the church for violations. The church says those allegations are being exaggerated. The church has also set up a GoFundMe<\/a> for financial assistance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ohio pastor Chris Avell is fighting back after being charged with breaking municipal laws. Avell pastors Dad\u2019s Place in Bryan, OH and opened his church 24\/7 to the homeless in March 2023. Since then, 18 charges were filed against the pastor, including charges of violating the city\u2019s ordinances, improper ventilation, and having unsafe exits. Lavell…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":20661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPastor Fights Back After Being Charged For Housing Homeless in Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chris Avell is fighting back after being charged with breaking municipal laws. Avell pastors Dad\u2019s Place in Bryan, OH and opened his church 24\/7 to the homeless in March 2023.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/01\/pastor-fights-back-after-being-charged-for-housing-homeless-in-church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pastor Fights Back After Being Charged For Housing Homeless in Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chris Avell is fighting back after being charged with breaking municipal laws. Avell pastors Dad\u2019s Place in Bryan, OH and opened his church 24\/7 to the homeless in March 2023.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/01\/pastor-fights-back-after-being-charged-for-housing-homeless-in-church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beliefnet News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-31T19:57:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2024\/01\/Chris-Avell-_credit-First-Liberty-Institute.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cecilia Buchanan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pastor Fights Back After Being Charged For Housing Homeless in Church","description":"Chris Avell is fighting back after being charged with breaking municipal laws. 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