Breakfast ministry closes

Although a Davenport, Iowa ministry to the homeless won its legal battle with the city last year over zoning regulations, it lost the war recently when financial struggles forced it to close down.

A ministry of Compassion Church, Timothy’s House of Hope served its last meal in late May after nine years, the Quad-City Times reported. Founder Jim Swope said the ministry had $8,000 in winter utility bills, in addition to personal health issues that curtailed fundraising efforts and legal costs from last year’s court case.

The city had issued a cease-and-desist order soon after the House of Hope—named for Swope’s special needs son who died at 22—moved into larger quarters in April of 2017. Authorities cited zoning rules against food service. 

However, the Times said the following month the city attorney determined the meal fit normal church activities and was allowed under zoning laws. The church sued last August over the shutdown and was awarded $33,500. It used the settlement and a grant of about $30,000 to install a roof over a part of the building.