The United States Department of Justice filed a complaint against the city of Brunswick, Georgia, on Dec. 16 because of the city’s actions to close The Well ministry to homeless persons.

The Well is a faith-based ministry operated by FaithWorks, an organization of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The complaint — filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia — alleges that the city, through its nuisance lawsuit and mandatory closure order, imposed a substantial burden on the religious exercise of FaithWorks.

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) protects “the right of religious groups such as The Well to use their land to help others,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a press release. “The division will continue to vindicate the rights of groups to exercise their religion and fight local land use laws that unlawfully restrict those rights.”

The Well has operated at its current location near downtown Brunswick since 2014. It offers “hospitality and religious resource[s]” and opens its doors as a warming center during inclement weather. The only time it allows overnight stays is when it is being used as a warming center. About 60 persons use the services of The Well on a daily basis.

The city of Brunswick lauded the services to homeless persons provided by The Well when it applied for a federal grant.

However, after complaints to the city commission in 2023, the mayor sent a letter to The Well requesting that it “immediately close its door and cease all operations” on the grounds that there “have been multiple, violent attacks on city residents” that “all share some discernable connection with The Well.”

The letter did not cite any city ordinance or regulation authorizing the closure request.

On April 21, 2023, The Well’s leadership agreed to close temporarily while attempting “to better understand rising concerns from the community regarding The Well and implement measures to address these concerns.”

Despite the voluntary closure, the city voted to impose a 65-day closure order on The Well. Leaders from The Well met with city leaders to address concerns about its operations with the hopes of reopening.

In July 2023, The Well reopened after adopting safety and security measures suggested by the Brunswick Police Department. However, on July 21, the city filed a nuisance lawsuit in state court seeking a permanent injunction to close The Well. In its motion, the city did not acknowledge any of the newly implemented measures.

According to a local newspaper report about crime in the area of The Well, the Brunswick police chief reportedly said “the calls have been largely nonviolent and alone do not suggest a larger preponderance of crime.”

“Given these security measures, the City cannot demonstrate that shutting down The Well advances a compelling governmental interest” nor that the government’s interest is being accomplished by the least restrictive means available, the lawsuit argues.

“The City cannot show that shutting down The Well is necessary to protect safety, particularly when The Well has already adopted procedures that have addressed the City’s purported safety concerns, and has successfully operated under those procedures for over a year,” it adds.

Editor’s note: This case is one of several where cities are using ordinances or regulations to prevent churches from operating ministries to the needy in their communities. Read more of those articles here.

This article has been republished with permission from Ministry Watch.

Kim Roberts is a freelance writer who holds a Juris Doctorate with honors from Baylor University and an undergraduate degree in government from Angelo State University. She has three young adult children who were home schooled and is happily married to her husband of 28 years.