Christians are expected to set good, Christ-like examples to those around them, but the Christian neighbours of the Merced County Rescue Mission in California apparently made a misstep after their complaints forced the humanitarian organisation to find a new home elsewhere.
The mission, which provides hot meals and shelter for the homeless, strove to be a "good neighbour" by avoiding any conflict with anyone. That's why after receiving complaints from members of the Central Presbyterian Church, which is located opposite the shelter, it decided to relocate.
Executive Director Bruce Metcalf told The Independent that they have stopped serving meals for over a week already this month since members of the Central Presbyterian Church feel uncomfortable about the presence of all the homeless people in the church vicinity.
"I don't think complaints are different than they've ever been," he said. "I think people simply got tired to having it close by them and were anxious for us to find a new location."
"It's true that anywhere, in any city, people aren't interested in having homeless services next to them," he added.
The Merced County Rescue Mission, which is located in Canal Street, has been serving hot meals to homeless people three times a day since 1998. But their services came to a temporary halt early this month. However, they still continue to provide shelter, showers, and treatment programmes.
Thankfully, Metcalf said they have found a new place where they can continue their feeding drive. The new service will start this coming Monday at Calvary Temple in Merced.
"The location where we're going to serve is much better as we have twice the space so we can serve more people easily," he shared. "It's good news and we're just very grateful."
Metcalf said they are not stopping there. They have plans of expanding their services and providing care to homeless people seven days a week and 24 hours a day. They are currently on the lookout for a larger building for the long term.
