Neighbors Speak Out About Controversial Burien Church Shelter

Amateur Hour

Wednesday evening, Highline United Methodist Church Pastor Jenny Partch and moderator Krystal Marx (@bcckrystalmarx) told me I was not allowed to record a PUBLIC MEETING about a controversial day shelter for the homeless at the church.

Neighbors say they learned about this city funded project last minute. Anyway, the pastor and Marx called Burien Police and tried to have me removed from the property. They clearly do not understand how PUBLIC MEETINGS work. In the end, common sense prevailed and I was allowed to stay and record.

As for the furious neighbors, they went off on church leaders and unloaded their concerns about the potential for crime, open air drug use, and other issues following the clientele and spilling into the hood. Btw, no one had their questions answered. Instead, the pastor says answers would eventually be sent via snail mail. I have never seen a PUBLIC MEETING handled in this manner.

On a side note, many mainline Christian denominations like the United Methodist Church (@UMNS) are getting older and rapidly losing members.

However, they are sitting on multimillion dollar properties and are not ready to sell. That’s why some UMC congregations are starting to pivot and are now collecting tax payer money to house the homeless and even illegal immigrants. Something to watch.

Burien Day Center Fact Sheet

This PUBLIC MEETING was announced on social media and neighbors also received fliers on their doors. More importantly, the “Fact Sheet” handed out clearly says: -Highline UMC’s(HUMC) contract with the City of Burien -The ARPA funds are federal dollars designated for the City of Burien to allocate across the city. -HUMC received a $200,000 grant to run the Burien Day Center January 2024-December 2025.