The
Episcopal Diocese of Olympia reports on a lawsuit filed in a Washington federal district court on Monday against the city of Aberdeen, Washington by an Episcopal priest and two others over access to a homeless encampment. The city has purchased the land and intends to clear it, but in the meantime is requiring anyone entering the site to obtain a permit. Rev. Sarah Monroe, who was denied a permit, explains the lawsuit:
My permit to visit this encampment was denied by the city on the grounds that I did not provide enough detail, or a schedule, or a clear list of what I intend to do during my visits. I am a priest. I have been pastoring the people in this camp for five years. I do everything from drive people to the hospital, to prayer, to taking people to social service appointments, to performing last rites when people die here. These essential pastoral duties do not happen on a schedule, as any member of the clergy can attest. I have continued to visit people, even though I have been denied a permit, and am petitioning the court to prevent the city from arresting me.
Homeless people have a constitutionally protected right to freedom of religious expression. I have a constitutionally protected right to my freedom of religious expression, which includes serving the poor and the sick and the hungry.
