City Church Fairfield is a small congregation located in a rough part of town. It takes seriously the age-old call of its faith to feed the hungry, care for the sick, clothe the naked, and offer hospitality to strangers.
As California’s Bay Area spiraled into recession and California’s homeless population began to explode, CCF offered food to anyone in need, no questions asked. It offered space on its property for people living out of their vehicles to safely park and sleep overnight before heading to work during the day. Eventually, the church opened a free medical clinic, with volunteer doctors and nurses. And it gave homeless men and women a permanent way off the streets through a residential work training program.
Everything was going well until Pastor Scott Mulvey decided to run for City Council. The church suddenly found itself besieged with a barrage of enforcement actions, including removal of military surplus tents, the city shuttered the free medical clinic, complications for the residential job training program. The city even threatened to tow vehicles parked overnight on the church’s property. And of course the fines.
The church is appealing. Brad Dacus with the Pacific Justice Institute said, “For more than a dozen years, this church had quietly and effectively served the needy. But when the pastor began speaking out on local issues, city officials retaliated.”