For nearly 25 years, Gethsemani Baptist Church in San Luis, Arizona, has been feeding the hungry. Every Sunday, the church feeds and ministers to some 300 families. Over the years, the church has distributed hundreds of thousands of pounds of food in the community and has supported some of the most vulnerable families in Yuma County.

For years, the city of San Luis cooperated with and even celebrated the church’s ministry to the poor, which stems directly from the teachings of Jesus: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-36).

For about 14 years, the church stored most of its food at a warehouse owned by the city. The city occasionally provided the church with grant money to support the ministry, and multiple city councilmembers had participated in food drives.

But after the election of Mayor Nieves Riedel in 2022, things changed. First, she informed the church that it could no longer use the city warehouse to store food or supplies. Then, the city sent a letter to Pastor Jose Manuel Castro, demanding that the church stop the food delivery trucks that provide the food, or face a fine. In accordance with city code, the church agreed to keep the loading and unloading of the trucks to two hours or less, and it began using a smaller trailer to ferry food and supplies to the church.

But then the city sent a notice to the church stating that the food ministry itself violated the city’s zoning code, and the mayor followed up with a letter to the same effect. After the church sent a letter stating that the city’s actions were unconstitutional and that the city had misapplied its code, the city said that the church would need a conditional use permit, which the church believes would be both cost prohibitive and fruitless, given the city’s hostility toward the church.

The church has now ceased almost all of its food ministry efforts, even canceling its annual Thanksgiving turkey drive-thru and Christmas toy drive-thru.

Even so, the city has continued its hostile actions. This past February, Pastor Castro was handing out small amounts of emergency food supplies to about 10 people when the city’s code enforcer arrived and issued four citations against the pastor. Less than a week later, after a food delivery truck mistakenly came to the church instead of a different location, the city issued more citations and threatened that further citations would result in criminal penalties.

In March, First Liberty Institute and the law firm Snell and Wilmer L.L.P. filed a complaint on behalf of the church in U.S. District Court, and in late July, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement with the court in support of the church, saying, “The city’s enforcement letters, citations and actions have caused the church to vastly reduce its food ministry and the number of people that it can feed and offer its ministry to, inflicting concrete and catastrophic injury to the church’s religious mission of helping those in need.”

In response to the government’s statement, Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty, said: “We are grateful that the United States Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in our case. Churches like Gethsemani Baptist who are laboring every day to care for their community should receive the support of their city. We hope the support of the law given by the United States of America motivates the City of San Luis to end their opposition to Pastor Castro and support his good work.”

The Scripture quotation is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois.

Photo: Iglesia Gethsemani Facebook