Church continues effort to be a sanctuary

June 29, 2017 | Chris Maza
Chrism@thereminder.com



SPRINGFIELD – After receiving a letter from Building Commissioner Steve Desilets addressing what he called “serious health and safety concerns” surrounding their plan to offer a physical sanctuary to undocumented immigrants at South Congregational Church, the Pioneer Valley Project asserted the letter was politically motivated and the city’s concern in this matter is not safety.

After Rev. Tom Gerstenlauer, senior pastor at South Congregational Church, announced the advocacy group’s intention to utilize the church as a shelter for those seeking to avoid detainment and deportation on June 16, Mayor Domenic Sarno, directed various departments “to review the situation to determine what recourse the city has to protect its interests.”

Desilets met with Gerstenlauer and Pioneer Valley Project Director and Lead Organizer Tara Parrish on June 20 and followed up that meeting with a letter that laid out various concerns regarding the use of the church as a residence.

In a statement to Reminder Publications Parrish said the three met for an “informational meeting” and noted there was no inspection, nor was the visit a response to any violation.

She went on to say Desilets’ letter “indicates that city officials appear to be prioritizing the sanctuary issue.”

She stated, “As we know, Springfield has many, many blighted properties and many of these properties have existing code violations. There is plenty of current work to do to ensure that Springfield families and neighborhoods are kept safe. It's questionable as to why all of a sudden there seems to be such a clear focus on South Congregational Church.”

Parrish added the Pioneer Valley Project planned to file a Freedom of Information Act request for “all communications between the mayor and all city department heads and employees regarding the sanctuary issue.”

Gerstenlauer added he appreciated Desilets’ “freely offered a narrative version of city rules and regulations” and invited him and other government officials to a vigil in front of South Congregational Church on July 6.

“We will begin at 7 p.m that evening, intentionally opening our hearts as a community of faithful people to God and to one another,” he said.

In the letter in question, Desilets informed Gerstenlauer the church did not currently qualify as a shelter because it is not properly zoned. For the church, or parts of it, to act as a shelter, the church would have to submit a site plan for approval by the City Council.

Churches can serve as temporary emergency shelters according to the Massachusetts building code, he noted, but only in the event of a cold weather emergency or state of emergency declared by the governor. In those instances a church can shelter people for more than seven consecutive days or more than 35 days in a calendar year.

Desilets advised Gerstenlauer that the church would also have to hire an architect to develop plans to convert the church or parts of it and those plans would have to be included in an application for a building permit.

The conversion, Desilets said, would require installing emergency sprinklers, bringing electrical and plumbing systems up to code, making the shelter space completely handicap accessible, and providing sanitary facilities such as bathrooms and showers and space for bedding.

Health codes would also have to be addressed if cooking were to take place on site and there are requirements for storage and management of medical waste that would have to be met.

Desilets concluded by noting the church is not currently housing anyone and does not plan to do so until the property is in compliance.

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