| Dear Friend, City leaders in Bryan, Ohio have literally made compassion a crime. This past winter, they made it clear that they would rather force citizens, with no place to go, out onto the streets in subzero temperatures than allow them to spend the night at Dad's Place - a local church. They even criminally charged Dad’s Place pastor Chris Avell for providing shelter for the city’s most vulnerable. Pastor Chris believes ministering to people in need is what he is called to do. And in March of 2023, he recognized a need in his community. His city’s most marginalized did not have a safe place to go to escape the cold. Bryan’s only homeless shelter was limited in space and often full. Realizing this, Pastor Chris felt led to keep his church open 24 hours, 7 days a week so that anyone in need of a safe, warm place to go would have one. Since then, city officials have been persecuting the pastor and his church. To date, Chris has faced nearly two dozen criminal charges and has been sentenced to 60 days in jail. We are appealing his case.  First Liberty and Pastor Chris are fighting back against this shocking overreach. We won’t allow this pastor’s compassion to be criminalized. My name is Kelly Shackelford. I am the President, CEO and Chief Counsel of First Liberty Institute – the nation’s largest law firm exclusively dedicated to defending religious freedom. I’d like to tell you that attacks like the one on Pastor Chris and his church are rare, but the truth is, First Liberty is fighting against discriminatory attacks on pastors and churches, all across our nation. Unfortunately, overzealous city leaders like the ones in Bryan put their hostility towards faith ahead of the needs of those in their community. And that’s why I am writing to you today. I want to ask you to do three things to help: - Pray for Pastor Chris and our attorneys as we fight what could be a long legal battle in court.
- Pray for the marginalized in Bryan that rely on Dad’s Place as a refuge.
- Join the fight by signing our petition telling the City of Bryan to stop the discrimination and allow Pastor Chris to continue serving those in need.
When you join us, you are joining the winning team. First Liberty has a 90%-win rate across all legal actions. And that’s not all, we’re undefeated at the Supreme Court, boasting a 9-0 record. What’s more, we don’t charge our clients for our legal services. No matter how long their cases take, or how much they cost, our clients won’t pay us a dime...ever. But to fight and win for Pastor Chris, we need the support of Americans like you. Will you help us stop this discriminatory attack on Pastor Chris? No pastor in America should be attacked for providing temporary shelter for those in desperate need. Yes, I’ll sign the petition! Grateful for you,
Kelly
Kelly Shackelford
President, CEO & Chief Counsel
First Liberty Institute
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