Church Opens to Homeless Despite Codes

As raindrops fell and temperatures dropped Wednesday night, a downtown church kept its promise to open its doors to homeless people despite a warning from the city Planning Department that such a move could be in violation of city codes.

But while volunteers at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah set up mattresses in the parish hall and choir rehearsal hall for up to 80 homeless people, local church officials hoped to avoid a confrontation with the city over the right of churches to provide emergency shelter for the homeless on nights when the local National Guard armory cannot.

“We are happy to be able to do this,” said the Rev. Brad Karelius, a spokesman for the church.

Some of the homeless people who came in from the rain were unaware of the simmering controversy. Nevertheless, they gave thanks for the shelter as they ate a dinner of macaroni and chili, peas and fruit cocktail.

“It’s certainly God-sent, I’ll tell you, and there’s a lot of good people out there,” said a 56-year-old man who did not want to give his name.

The one-night shelter was set up as planned following a private meeting earlier this week between local church leaders and city officials. Participants declined to discuss the results of the meeting but signaled a willingness to cooperate with each other to keep the issue out of court.

City officials “have not given us permission, but we don’t think we are going to have any problems with the city,” said the Rev. Michael Pulsifer of the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana. “We don’t want to fight them and I don’t think they want to fight us either.”

Karelius characterized the meeting as “friendly.”

City officials involved in the issue were not available for comment, and senior planner Ken Adams said he had not been advised of the results of the meeting, conducted by City Manager David N. Ream.

The issue came to the forefront recently when the Planning Department sent the Episcopal Church of the Messiah a letter stating that “while the city recognizes the need to provide shelter in adverse conditions, your facility is not in an appropriate zone for the operation of a shelter.”

Karelius replied that the primary use of the church was for worship, not as a temporary shelter, and the restriction should not apply. Serving the poor, he added, was part of the church’s ministry.

Vange Oberschlake and her 14-year-old son, Gregory Overton, were among the nine volunteers serving food at the church Wednesday night.

“My belief is that this is a mission of Christians,” Oberschlake said, “and my belief is that my constitutional rights allow me to do this.”

As part of a program that rotates among local churches, the Episcopal Church had been scheduled to provide shelter on four nights when the National Guard armory on Warner Avenue in Santa Ana was being used for drills. The armory is open only if the temperature drops to 40 degrees or, if it is raining, to 50 degrees.

Church officials, expecting the rain that began just as the homeless began arriving at 5 p.m., had readied their temporary shelter earlier in the day. In addition to a warm, dry place to sleep and a hot meal, the homeless were to be served breakfast before the doors closed today at 7 a.m.

Wednesday was the last night the Episcopal Church was scheduled to provide shelter before the program ends in March, but Karelius said he hoped to participate again next year.

“We expect to offer the church again,” he said.

Tonight, if rains continue as forecast, the homeless will probably be allowed to stay at the National Guard armory at 612 E. Warner Ave. County officials will notify the armory about 10 a.m. today whether to plan on opening, an armory official said Wednesday night.

According to Stephen Burback, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which forecasts the weather for The Times, Orange County coastal areas can expect heavy rainfall from this storm, which could bring from 1 to 2 inches of rain today. Daytime highs should be in the 60s.

“This is a good-sized storm, and it has a lot of moisture in it,” Burback said.

He said the storm is expected to last, with scattered showers, through Friday afternoon.

It is the first of several storms that could ease drought conditions in Southern California. Burback said the next storm is due Sunday afternoon, with a third storm system expected by midweek.

Times staff writer David Reyes contributed to this report.