As people of faith our biblical call is clear: Love our neighbors, especially those in need.

This past Tuesday at Wheeling’s city council meeting one of our councilors, blaming service providers, threatened to close the only homeless camp that has survived last year’s otherwise sweeping homeless, or camping, ban.

The municipal homeless ban, now alongside introduced statewide homeless bans, legislates legal penalties for people cooking, eating, sleeping, and storing personal belongings in public (the state ban also incentivizes busing violators away). Panhandling bans have also made it illegal to exchange items including food, money, or other aid between pedestrians and persons in vehicles.

This is our human law.

Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Welcome strangers. Shelter those who need it.

This is God’s law and our faith.

As people of faith we should each ask ourselves, “Are we in right relation with our homeless neighbors?” Or are we banning them?

We’d like to invite fellow people of faith to gather, pray, and ask these questions together: “Are we in right relation with our homeless neighbors?” And if we have fallen short as we humans do, “what is an appropriate faithful response to bring us closer to that right relation?”

First, let’s pray and share scripture about homelessness. There is an astounding amount of it! In Genesis, Isaiah, the Psalms, the Gospels, Paul’s letters, to only begin.

By ourselves while we’re discerning this invitation, at the beginning of our meeting, and likely other times along this effort we’d like to compile a list and pray with scripture that speaks about homelessness so it can guide us in this effort.

We’ll start compiling a list now if you’d like to share passages to wheelinghomelessneighbors@gmail.com.

This prayerful assembly will be exploratory, to discuss and share together what our faith community’s relationship with our homeless neighbors should be — in 2025, in Wheeling, in West Virginia, in our social, political, economic world today.

What can inform our answer to that question — scripture, our history and examples of faith that have come before us, the actions of faith communities in other cities perhaps? And then lastly, asking what our steps, if any, we should be making as people of faith to bring us more so into that right relationship? In short, what does our faith call us to in this moment?

If you are a local person of faith concerned about our community’s relationship with our homeless neighbors, please join us at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 30 at Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church, 905 National Road Wheeling, West Virginia, 26003.

Send optional RSVPs or inquiries to wheelinghomelessneighbors@gmail.com.

Vincent DeGeorge is a community advocate who lives in East Wheeling. Contributing writers were Matt and Amanda Cummins.