By Victor Ochieng
Dana Johnson has been going through difficult times over the past two years. During the period, she’s been homeless on and off.
Johnson spent most of September living in Jessie’s Place, a downtown Birmingham-based women’s shelter. During her time at the shelter, she was told she was required to tithe and attend church every Sunday. Johnson wanted to attend First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, where she’s a member and part of the church’s mission team. The church is located just two blocks away from Jessie’s Place, which made it equally convenient.
Unfortunately for her, she was told she, like all the women in the shelter, had to attend Church of the Highlands, Woodlawn branch. For three consecutive Sundays, Johnson and the women at the shelter were transported to the church in a van.
Then it happened that she landed a job. To her surprise, she was asked by the shelter to either tithe or donate 10% of her earnings. She revealed that she was told to visit her bank and sign for a money order payable to the Church of the Highlands, the largest church in Alabama.
Even though the Woodlawn campus has its praise team, the sermon is streamed live from the main campus on Grants Mill Road. The sermons are delivered by Senior Pastor Chris Hodges.
“It’s fine,” Johnson said of the Church of the Highlands. “It’s a nice presentation.”
She attended services at the Church of the Highlands on September 10, 17 and 24, but says it could’ve been better for her if she attended First Presbyterian church.
Her being forced to attend the Church of the Highlands didn’t go down well with her First Presbyterian church pastor.
“If you are going to make people go to church, why not one around here?” said the Rev. Shannon Webster, Johnson’s pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. “She could have walked a block to our place.”
The director of Jessie’s Place LaTonya Melton however explained in an email to Webster that their requirement for all women under their shelter to attend the Church of the Highlands is to avoid cases where some women would claim to have attended a service when they actually didn’t. She also said categorically that tithing is required, but not that they have to pay their tithes to the Church of the Highlands.
Even though the tithe paid isn’t a lot, Johnson says the amount is significant for a homeless person.
Tony Cooper, executive director of the Jimmie Hale Mission which operates Jessie’s Place, explained that going to church is part of the shelter’s policy and all the women signing up are informed well in advance.
“They know they’ll be going to a church on Sunday,” Cooper said. “We’re going to go to a church that’s local and close-by, one that we’re comfortable with. We can’t supervise 15 or 20 women going to different places. It’s convenience more than anything else.”
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