wfn.org | Portland church, neighbors work through differences

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 15, 2000  News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-21-71B{369}

By Linda Sullivan*

PORTLAND, Ore. (UMNS) -- Neighbors and church members mingled at a picnic on
a warm August evening in a park near Sunnyside Centenary United Methodist
Church -- a picnic that would have been unimaginable a few months ago. The
event was held to celebrate a significant step toward resolving a conflict
between neighborhood and church.

Last January, after months of conflict in the neighborhood, some local
residents succeeded in getting a city hearings officer to revoke a
conditional use permit that allowed the church to provide certain programs.
The move would have shut down a church fellowship supper and a Friday night
coffee house that offered free meals to the poor, and it would have limited
the number of people who could attend worship. However, the Portland City
Council later reversed the decision and allowed the programs to continue on
condition that the church and the neighbors work out their differences.

On July 12, the Portland City Council accepted a management plan for the
twice-weekly meals program. The plan will be formally adopted on Aug. 23.

Speaking for supporters of the church's meals program, co-pastor Tim Lewis
had admitted to the city council on March 1 that the ministry had some
"serious flaws" and that Sunnyside Centenary had not lived up to its "good
neighbor agreement." 

Church leaders then presented a new set of conciliatory proposals in what
City Commissioner Jim Francesconi called an "extraordinary document." Tom
Badrick, president of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, advocated a
compromise that would alleviate community fears about the ministries to the
poor and end the conflict.
 
The city council told neighborhood and church leaders to develop a workable
plan for managing the meals program.

Neighborhood residents, representatives of the church and a Portland police
officer set about refining solutions, under the eye of a city-appointed
mediator. After four months of meetings and discussions, conflict slowly
changed to cooperation. The resulting plan includes early and regular
communication between the church and neighborhood
residents to address potential trouble areas quickly, and a more active
police presence that will keep problems to a minimum.

Pat Schwiebert, a volunteer who coordinates the 19-year-old Wednesday night
dinner program, is optimistic. "It is really going to be the relationship
that we have with each other and the trust we are building that will allow
the document to work," she said. 

She sees the solution as a process of continued responsiveness on the part
of the church to the feelings of neighborhood residents. Not all of the
residents like the management plan. Some simply want the "problem" of
homeless and hungry people to go away, while others see value in the program
but want to feel safer. Many neighbors want the church to take full
responsibility for the behavior of people whom they view as "troublemakers."

Schwiebert agrees that the church must be a good neighbor. "It is important
that the church recognize that we do not do our ministries in isolation,"
she said. "What we do has an impact on our neighborhood. The fact that we
are doing good and important work does not mean we can neglect our
neighbors' concerns.

"We are doing extra work with the people who come to our dinners to make
sure they understand that there are rules and that they will be enforced,"
she said. "We have an excellent neighborhood patrol walking the streets
after the meals to watch for problems. And we will continue conversations
with the neighbors."

Schwiebert sees the resolution as both positive and somewhat bittersweet.
The conflict has left church supporters with more than $14,000 in debts for
legal fees and other related expenses, and the operating budget has
quadrupled because the new agreement requires that the church hire a
security guard before, during and after the programs.

However, the issue has had positive side effects, such as the formation of a
group called "Friends of Sunnyside" by some neighborhood residents. The
group, along with nearby Westminster Presbyterian Church and others, is
involved in a $50,000 renovation campaign to fix up Sunnyside Centenary's
facilities. Westminster contributed $2,000.

"One way to restore neighborhood relations is to restore neighborhood
buildings," explained local resident John Barker, co-chair of Friends of
Sunnyside.

Sunnyside is not the only neighborhood in Portland where conflicts have
arisen over ministries to the poor and homeless. "Every time there is an
attempt to help, there is considerable resistance," Schwiebert said.
"Hunger, homelessness and alienation will not just go away. It is the
business of the church to minister to the least among us."
# # #
*Sullivan is editor of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference's United Methodist
newsletter.

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United Methodist News Service
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