Ocean City Cites Church Shelter Amid Ongoing Dispute

Ocean City, MD - A long-running dispute between the Town of Ocean City and St. Paul's by the Sea Episcopal Church took another turn Monday when a church official was handed a citation ordering the shutdown of the Outreach Center and Shelter By-the-Sea.

The citation came as the church was in the middle of serving lunch to guests at its shelter at 302 N. Baltimore Avenue in Ocean City, Maryland.

According to a social media post from the church, Pastor Jill Williams answered the door and received the citation from George Bendler, Ocean City's Director of Planning and Community Development.

The church shared the moment bluntly: "The citation is to shut down the shelter at 302 N. Baltimore Avenue, the same building where we feed people, welcome them, build friendships, and give our unhoused neighbors a safe place to sleep."

The church says it isn't backing down. It plans to file a declaratory judgment action in Federal Court, asking a judge to rule that it has the constitutional and federal right to carry out its faith-based mission of helping people in need.

St. Paul's is pointing to two specific legal protections. The first is the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, which protects the right to practice religion. The second is the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, known as RLUIPA, a federal law that limits how local governments can regulate religious organizations.

For now, the shelter is staying open. The church made clear that its work will continue as usual, and that it plans to open its doors again tonight to give homeless residents a warm, safe place to sleep.

Eastern Shore Undercover reached out to St. Paul's by the Sea and was granted permission to use the photos of their citations, and we are posting a link below of the video that was captured this morning.

Link to Video