Phoenix at odds with church that feeds needy

wtop.com (AP): “On Saturday mornings, crowds of homeless gather with other needy people at picnic tables outside a church in an upscale Phoenix neighborhood . . . Neighbors say it should be done elsewhere . . . Cities often target events that help the homeless because they don’t want them to be seen, says Kevin Theriot, ADF’s senior counsel. The group is not involved in the Phoenix case, but Theriot says the church’s freedom of religion is being violated. ‘Feeding the homeless and feeding those who are hungry has been recognized as an important religious belief for years,’ he says. ‘My guess is if they were serving a pancake breakfast to local neighborhood folks that aren’t homeless, then nobody would have a problem.’”