Gethsemani Baptist Church’s food distribution program is a 25-year ministry to impoverished families in the southernmost part of Yuma County. Every Sunday, they feed and minister to about 300 families and donate what remains to nearby churches.
Through this ministry, the Church fills a critical need in the City by sharing the Gospel and donating food and other supplies, which it ferries to its property using a semi-truck. Because no other food ministries exist within the city, the Church’s charitable activities have been a blessing for the community, with the city often celebrating or even participating in the church’s ministry efforts.
During the pandemic, the church organized 15 drive-thru events and tirelessly served over 400 families distributing food, clothing, water, and other supplies. Two of the drive-through events were held in the parking lot at city hall with the entire San Luis city council members joining the effort, handing out bread and canned goods.
In previous years the city provided the church warehouse space for food storage and even allocated grants to support their efforts. What was once a show of support and cooperation with the church’s efforts has turned into a combative denial of the church’s ministry to the poor.
Gethsemani’s ministry was forced to a screeching halt after the election of Mayor Nieves Riedel in late 2022. After she took office, everything changed. City officials sent a letter to the church’s pastor demanding they stop the food delivery trucks that provide the food or be fined for their efforts. Because of the city’s hostility, Pastor Jose Castro had to significantly cut back on food distribution. He’s tried to continue feeding the hungry as best he can under these limitations.
To comply with the city’s demands and avoid fines they could not afford, the church offered to use smaller trucks—not as efficient or with the same capacity. But the City said no.
Just a few weeks ago, while Pastor Jose was passing out food to group of about 10 people, a city code enforcer showed up unannounced and issued him four citations. Less than a week later, when a third party parked in front of the church for only five minutes, the code enforcer returned and issued four more citations. The city has even threatened the pastor with criminal charges.
These aggressive tactics have now forced Gethsemani to pause its ministry, as the church and Pastor Jose cannot afford the heavy fines or to relocate. Because of the City and Mayor Riedel’s intimidation tactics, the church cannot feed the hungry. That means people are going hungry right now.
In March 2024, First Liberty and the law firm Snell and Wilmer L.L.P. filed a complaint and a motion for preliminary injunction in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona urging the court to stop the City of San Luis (AZ) from blocking Gethsemani’s efforts to distribute food to the poor.
“It’s unconscionable that the City of San Luis won’t allow Gethsemani Baptist Church to continue its 25-year mission of providing food for the hungry, hurting people in the surrounding communities,” said Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute. “People who take action to care for the hungry should be encouraged and affirmed, not threatened and fined.”
News Release
For Immediate Release: 3.19.24
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Church Files Lawsuit Against the City of San Luis for Blocking Food Distribution to Impoverished Families
The city issued fines and threatens criminal charges for parking transport trucks in the church’s parking lot.
San Luis, AZ—First Liberty Institute and the law firm Snell and Wilmer L.L.P. filed a complaint and a motion for preliminary injunction in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona urging the court to stop the City of San Luis from blocking Gethsemani Baptist Church from distributing food to the poor. Gethsemani’s food distribution is a 25-year ministry to impoverished families in the southernmost part of Yuma County.
You can read the complaint here.
“It’s unconscionable that the City of San Luis won’t allow Gethsemani Baptist Church to continue its 25-year mission of providing food for the hungry, hurting people in the surrounding communities,” said Jeremy Dys, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute. “People who take action to care for the hungry should be encouraged and affirmed, not threatened and fined.”
Since 1999, Gethsemani Baptist Church has operated its food ministry mere blocks from the Mexico border, sharing the Gospel as it distributes hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and other household items to the most vulnerable families in the surrounding areas. It is the only food ministry in the city serving desperate families. Gethsemani uses semi-trucks to transport food where it is off-loaded on the church’s parking lot.
When a new mayor took office, the city went from celebrating and supporting Gethsemani’s ministry to escalating tactics to shut it down. The city has sent letter after letter, moving the goalposts and not even allowing the church to benefit from laws already on the books. But even while the city has relentlessly worked to stop the church from parking its truck or storing and distributing food, the city turns a blind eye as commercial trucks and businesses regularly violate the same city codes in the same zoning district. Even after switching to smaller trucks in an attempt to comply with the city’s demands, the city continues to enforce its “cease and desist” order, preventing the church from ministering.
The City even resorted to citing the church’s pastor when he handed out small quantities of emergency food supplies to ten people. Less than a week later, after a third-party truck accidentally parked in front of the church for just five minutes, the City cited the pastor again instead of the driver. The church and its pastor cannot afford the city’s heavy fines and fear that more citations could result in the pastor going to jail. The city’s actions have forced the church to pause its ministry as it seeks relief from the court.
The complaint states that the city is, “engaged in efforts of increasing severity to clamp down on the Church, but throughout the same time period, Defendants have not enforced the same ordinances against similarly situated secular organizations that also use semi-trucks and store food in the same residential zone. Defendants are wielding City ordinances as a cudgel in a persistent lawfare campaign to stop the Church’s ministry activities. Their treatment of the Church violates both federal and Arizona law.”
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
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