A group of Central Florida religious leaders wants the city to stop arresting those who feed the homeless in Lake Eola Park (pic'd here) and other public places and wants to meet with Orlando's mayor to discuss the issue.The goal of Concerned Clergy for Compassion is "to stop the criminalization of taking care of the homeless," said the Rev. Matt Blowers of The Harbour Church, which is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church and Brethren in Christ denominations.
"If city officials think it's an issue, it's a civil issue, not a criminal issue."The coalition is made up of clergy and lay members representing about 20 Protestant, Jewish and Muslim congregations plus the Catholic Diocese of Orlando.
They say they were moved to action by the arrest, under a city ordinance passed last summer, of an activist for exceeding the limit on the number of homeless people who can be fed at one time.
City officials have told the group that it must first meet with Alana Brenner, the city clerk, and Marsha Segal-George, the city's deputy chief executive officer, before any meeting with the mayor can be considered.
It was unclear Thursday whether the coalition would accept that offer."The desire of the group is that we actually meet with the mayor, so he would know where we are coming from, right from the beginning," said the Rev. Jim Coffin, senior pastor of Markham Woods Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Heather Allebaugh, spokeswoman for the mayor, acknowledged that the homeless issue is important but added, "It's really a broader issue than the ordinance," one that involves Orange County and other governmental agencies."In order to solve the problem of homelessness, we have to work together as a community and pool our resources," she said.
However, Blowers, who joined the coalition as a representative of 14 evangelical churches in the Waterford Lakes area, said, "The mayor has backed this ordinance, so we want to talk to him directly. We're not going to go away. A little meeting with some assistants is not going to pacify us."
The city ordinance requires a specific permit for the public feeding of "25 or more people, including distributors and servers" in a park or public area within a two-mile radius of City Hall.
The ordinance allows two such permits to any individual or group at the same location in the span of a year.
Homeless advocates are still feeding people every week in Lake Eola Park.Last month, police arrested volunteer Eric Montanez and charged him with violating the ordinance. He has pleaded not guilty.
On Wednesday night, about 50 people gathered to protest the ordinance outside Orlando's Urban Think! Bookstore, where Dyer was holding a campaign fundraiser.
The mayor did not emerge from the building to address the crowd.
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