Church fights city zoning to host homeless families

[Kilika]

Another case of churchianity wanting it's way in the secular world. And they get all upset when the world doesn't accommodate them and break out the lawyers. But then when living by the law, it's expected. They insist on being able to do what they want in the world without secular government interference. Total hypocracy. And toss into the mix at the end a faslehood stated as fact that people don't go to City Hall, they go to church. What a bunch of baloney. One can't selectively follow laws in the world. You either play by that set of rules in that system, or don't play. The property isn't permitted apparently for that type use, so city wins, and churchianity again makes Christianity look bad.

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24 (KJB)

California church fights city to host homeless families
 

By Chloe Schwarz
Published June 13, 2012
FoxNews.com
 

A California church is taking on city hall after being told it can't take in homeless families because of local zoning and fire codes.
 
The First Baptist Church, of Alhambra, about 15 miles south of Pasadena, sought to take part in the Family Promise Program, in which more than a dozen area churches host up to five families for one week four times a year. When Alhambra City Manager Julio Fuentes nixed the plan, saying turning a church into a shelter violates both zoning and fire code regulations, Pastor Lee Hamby vowed to fight.
 
"I'm fighting this because I believe in religious freedom and laws in our country that protect against the government from imposing on what we do," Hamby told FoxNews.com.

Hamby said housing the homeless is part of the church's mission within the community, considering more than 90 percent of the homeless they help are from Alhambra by his estimation. And people who are down on their luck have always turned to houses of worship, he noted.
 
“Most people who end up on the street have a story and it’ll break your heart,” Hamby said.
 
But the city has gone so far as to get an injunction barring the church from housing homeless families. Although that order was eventually withdrawn, the city's position has not changed. Fuentes said the church simply isn't built to house families.
 
"You still have to follow the building and the fire codes to house people," Fuentes told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. "You just can't make makeshift housing without obviously adhering to the proper building codes because safety is still an issue."
 
Church officials believes the city is violating the church's First Amendment rights as well as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, which explicitly states that governments are not allowed to implement zoning laws that restrict religious institutions, such as churches, from conducting their historical ministries.
 
For now, the church will host families in rental apartments, a hotel and in other churches. But that solution takes a toll on the congregation's budget. The church’s lawyers are preparing for a legal battle, which they believe they'll win. But one way or another, Hamby vowed, the church will continue to serve homeless families in ways the city can't.
 
"When people need help, they never go to City Hall," Hamby said. "They go to church."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/13/california-church-barred-by-city-from-hosting-homeless-families/?test=latestnews?test=latestnews

[Psalm 51:17]

Add to this - this church is (likely)a 501c3 - the state gave them their right to exist, so therefore they HAVE TO abide by their laws.

Sorry - noone can have their cake and eat it too.