St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church Relieved Legal Battle With Brookings City Council Is Over

BROOKINGS, Ore. — St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, which has been embroiled in a legal tussle with the City of Brookings for several years, indicated that an agreement has now been reached.

The church’s Vicar, Father Bernie Lindley, is looking forward to the next chapter of helping those in need.

City of Brookings Reaches Agreement With St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church

The City of Brookings took issue with social services provided by St. Timothy’s to the community and previously claimed this violated the city’s zoning laws. After a years-long legal battle, the church can now continue to provide services that include meals, showers, internet, and more.

A financial settlement was also reached last week, with the City of Brookings agreeing to pay $400 thousand in legal fees. Fr. Lindley said that the lawyers have been paid and the abatement notices have been dropped. The church is relieved that they can live into their ministries without worrying about what the next thing is that may happen.

Aside from the payment of $400,000, St. Timothy’s is allowed to continue providing social services to the community.

St. Timothy’s Starts On A Clean Slate To Provide Community Services

St Timothy’s had a big role during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing vaccines and testing, and is now looking towards the future. They are planning to build on their pandemic services with more vaccines over and above the COVID-19 vaccines.

This would extend to flu vaccines and include all of the things a public health department could provide. The church is working with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to help provide low-barrier access to vaccines.

Without the litigation looming over the relationships between the church, city, and its residents, St Timothy’s hopes to have more opportunities to work with the community as a whole. Fr. Lindley said, “We want to be good neighbors both to the community at large and the neighbors that live nearby.”

The vicar is actively seeking to find ways to hear the concerns of the community and the city and create opportunities for dialogue to express what the city and communities want the church to respond to.

Fr. Lindley mentioned that St. Timothy’s maintained a great relationship with Brookings Police throughout the process and looks forward to meeting the new city manager, Tim Rundel. He said he is keen to start working with the city on a clean slate.