New Jersey church prepares for court fight against town’s attempted ‘land grab’

Christ Episcopal Church in Toms River, New Jersey, backed by the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey and Episcopal Church officials, is preparing to fight the township’s effort to acquire its 11-acre property.

“We will do all that we can to ensure that your ministries in this place continue for a long, long time, and that it is the leadership of Christ Church, not the mayor or the township council, who decides how this church property is used,” New Jersey Bishop Sally French told Christ Church members in a May 4 letter to the congregation.

The move by the town council and the mayor to buy the land or seize it through eminent domain comes at the same time that the church has an application pending approval for a 17-bed overnight homeless shelter on its property. Mayor Daniel Rodrick, who is behind the land-seizure effort, opposes the shelter, as do some of the church’s neighbors.