A federal judge has ruled against the city government of Brookings, Oregon, in a First Amendment case involving St. Timothy's Episcopal Church's homeless meal service. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke deemed an ordinance passed by the city as a violation of the church's religious freedom rights. The ordinance, enacted in 2021, mandated a permit for serving free food in residential areas and restricted the church's meal services to two days a week.
St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, which has been providing free meals to the homeless since 2009, challenged the ordinance in court, arguing that it impeded their religious practices. The federal judge concurred with the church, stating that the city failed to justify limiting the number of days for meal distribution.
