In Houston, the Beacon, a ministry of the Episcopal Cathedral, provides lunch and other services to as many as 400 homeless people on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. A lawyer in an adjacent building doesn’t like the mess, so he has sued, seeking a permanent injunction. It’s not like the Church hasn’t reached out to neighbors. They have an off-duty cop on premises during open hours, and they meet regularly with neighboring businesses. Apparently the lawyer never attended any of those meetings, or communicated directly with the Church. The article is here.

Yes, homelessness is messy. Yes, the sight of homeless people standing around is unattractive. Unfortunately, we live in a society where, for a set of complex reasons, people live on the streets. The answer is not to close facilities, or move them somewhere else, out of sight and out of mind. And above all, the answer is not to prevent the church from doing its mission of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and providing shelter to the homeless.