Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: With Out of the Cold needing a space, where are the churches?

Jan 17, 2020 | 12:13 PM

CHURCHES IN KAMLOOPS, as in most communities in BC, are eligible to be exempt from paying property taxes.

In that way, they are in the same category as property belonging to non-profit organizations and charities such as galleries or not-for-profit seniors housing.

The characteristic all those types of properties have in common, in theory, is that they provide a service to the broader community.

In the case of churches, one would hope that service is not limited to their own membership but to those in need.

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Keep that in mind as you think about the recent cold snap.

No one was forced to spend their nights outside, thanks to a patchwork of services opening their doors at night, including emergency shelters and warming spaces.

But Out of the Cold couldn’t find a place to operate after being hosted by St. Paul’s Cathedral downtown for many years.

The uncertainty created by the absence of Out of the Cold is extremely troubling for the street population of Kamloops.

When you’re relying on a patchwork of services, that patchwork can unravel very quickly.

That’s why there was no good reason this could not have been hosted at a different church.

Many of those places of worship are equipped with gymnasiums or banquet halls that sit empty for most of the week — and certainly aren’t used overnight, when a cold weather shelter would theoretically operate.

The fit for an Out of the Cold-type service is almost too perfect — and that’s why it worked at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The service itself may be looking for very specific criteria in the building that hosts it, and who knows what technicalities and roadblocks are being thrown in the way of this happening.

But if that’s the case, then everyone involved needs to take a step back and look at the issue in the simplest terms.

People need to be inside overnight when it’s cold so they don’t die.

From experience, I know churches tend to be internally focused rather than externally focused, unlike the example set by the person they follow.

If they are doing a service to the community — and want to keep that tax exemption — I would suggest they start looking beyond their own walls.

Instead of looking for reasons why it won’t work, we should be looking for ways to make it happen.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.