The following words were meant to be presented to the Norwich Zoning Board of Appeals at the latest public hearing on the matter of the St. Vincent de Paul Place soup kitchen and their current location at 120 Cliff St. I was not allowed to give my full testimony, even though I did not go over the three minute time allotment. I was interrupted and forced to stop about halfway through. This was due in part because of poor time management of the meeting by the zoning board itself, and I can only guess, in part, because my testimony was not deemed 'relevant' to the matter at hand. Below is the full testimony I would have given:
283 Broadway, Norwich
Good evening Mr. Chairman, members of the board, and fellow members of the Norwich community. My name is Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals, I am the minister at Park Congregational Church here in Norwich. Members of our congregation have supported St. Vincent de Paul Place for many years. We have participated in their hospitality meal program in the winter months, and we have also served meals both at United Congregational Church on Sunday afternoons and at Central Baptist Church on Friday evenings, where we often serve many of the same people who are patrons at St. Vincent’s during the week. We occasionally welcome patrons of St. Vincent’s on Sunday mornings in our sanctuary for worship, and are always more than happy to do so. And so we are familiar with many of the guests at St. Vincent’s-- we have gotten to know many of them and have come to care about them a great deal.
What saddens me the most about this ongoing debate, and the reason I felt personally moved to speak this evening, is the anger and hostility that is being directed at some of the poorest and most vulnerable members of the Norwich community, and those who serve them. This whole debate has led to such detrimental divisions between “us” and “them” which weaken our ability to work together to solve the problems we face as a community. I speak to you this evening as a minister and as a person of faith. And from that vantage point, I have to speak to the fact that in God’s eyes, there is no “us” and “them.” We are all equal in the eyes of God, and we are all valued in the eyes of God. If we say that certain people are not welcome in certain parts of our city, is that not saying that those people—specifically those who are poor, homeless, or disabled-- are of less value than others? Does that not create a community in which the poor are viewed as second class citizens, unwelcome and unwanted in certain neighborhoods? Throughout this debate, patrons of the soup kitchen have been characterized as strangers who threaten the safety of our children, as lazy people who choose not to support themselves, as the reason for Norwich’s economic problems, and worse. Does this not betray a stereotype that paints all patrons of the soup kitchen with the same, rather narrow--minded brush—making them out to be some great threat to our common well-being, as opposed to who they really are—fellow members of our community, and our neighbors.
It was said by one board member at last month’s hearing that this issue is simply a matter of “a building, and a use”, and nothing more. I must respectfully disagree. Anyone who has been paying any attention to this debate these past few months must know that this is about more than just “a building and a use.” It’s about who we are as a community. Will we be the kind of city that blames the poor for our problems, and wishes to simply sweep them under the rug, keeping them out of sight and out of mind? Will we be the kind of community that views the poor, homeless, or vulnerable as merely a problem to be contained? Do we see the poor and disabled as undesirables who somehow by virtue of their very presence bring down our property value and threaten our security? Or will we choose to see one another as we are-- fellow brothers and sisters— all of us equal in the eyes of God? Can we come to understand that “those people” that we are so afraid of are sitting next to us in church? That their children are sitting next to ours in school? That we are but one lay-off or medical emergency away from sitting next to them for a meal at the soup kitchen ourselves?
Make no mistake. This is about so much more than a “building and a use.” The decision the city makes in regards to this issue will define the very character of who we are as a community. And so I sincerely hope the board takes the gravity of this reality and the true complexity of this situation to heart in their decision. Thank you.
Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals
Pastor of Park Congregational Church283 Broadway, Norwich
