Wendy Nilsson, the new parks department superintendent, has told the Church Beyond the Walls to find somewhere else to worship. Several city officials have told the group that this is not the case. The church and the city continue to work on an agreement.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Rev. Linda Forsberg’s congregation is a motley bunch, many of them homeless, living in poverty or struggling with addiction.

There is "Sarge," a cantankerous but sweet Vietnam veteran, who writes music for his band. And Pasquale Moretti, a recovering drug addict who loves "eating clean," or all-natural, and will bet anyone $5 to have their name and birthday tattooed on his leg (the catch — he has the words ‘your name and birthday’ tattooed on his leg). They sit beside Lee Sulls, a self described "nomad" who is trying to hit all 50 states before he dies. Rhode Island is his 41st.

They have little in common but their Saturday schedule. No matter the situation — subzero temperatures, the loss of family members, slip ups in recovery, ever changing housing situations — the Church Beyond the Walls parish convenes at Burnside Park at 2 p.m. for an hour and a half of sermon and solace.

But on a recent Saturday anxiety loomed over the peaceful service. Forsberg says Wendy Nilsson, the new parks department superintendent, has told the Church Beyond the Walls to find somewhere else to worship. Several city officials have told the group that this is not the case. The church and the city continue to work on an agreement.

Forsberg's concern began when she was forwarded a series of emails sent by the city's assistant director of downtown parks, Geoff Kish, to colleagues. The Providence Journal obtained copies of the correspondence from Jim Bryant, a founding member of the Church Beyond the Walls.

On April 18, Kish sent an email with the subject line: “Burnside Park totally trashed” to a few colleagues including Nilsson. Kish linked to the church’s Facebook page, and asked Nilsson to reach out to them.

This message led to a meeting in late April at the city solicitor’s office among Bryant; Forsberg; Linda Grenz, an assistant to the Rt. Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely, Episcopal bishop of Rhode Island, which officially sanctions the church; Adrienne Southgate, the deputy city solicitor; and Nilsson.

Forsberg, who is the pastor at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Greenwich, said Nilsson told them they would have to look for a new location because they don’t have a permit. She also cited a city ordinance that bans religious and political addresses in public parks, Forsberg and Bryant said.

Nilsson suggested moving the service to Station Park or to Crossroads, a multi-services agency that assists the homeless, Forsberg said.

In a parks conservancy meeting May 12, Forsberg and Bryant made a plea to allow the Church Beyond the Walls to continue worshiping in the park.

“We are one of the few things in their lives that they can count on. They appreciate us just showing up week after week after week at 2,” Forsberg said. “They know we will be there to gather and offer a word of support and spiritual strength and really be a community there within the park.”

The garbage Kish referenced in his email could not have been from her group, Forsberg added, because it was discovered on a Monday morning, and the congregation gathers on Saturdays.

Mayor Jorge Elorza said he believed the group’s concerns are legitimate, and he hopes they could “reach some sort of resolution that is good for everybody.” He recommended Nilsson work with the church, noting that he appreciated the work they do for the community.

Nilsson again cited the city ordinance and said there are “six or seven other groups downtown who are laying similar claims.”

Asked if she had reached out to the other groups, she said, “they are very rogue. They don’t have phone numbers.”

“Our good friends here are suffering from [the fact that] they are easy to find,” she said. “They have a very good website and what have you.”

The ordinance in question, passed in 1918, states that “No person shall address any political or religious meeting in any public park,” but Evan England, a spokesman for the mayor, said it is not regularly enforced.

In a 1953 U.S. Supreme Court case, Fowler v. Rhode Island, justices overturned a similar ordinance in Pawtucket, finding that it violated First and 14th Amendments.

The Journal sent Nilsson and the city solicitor’s office a copy of this decision. The city solicitor’s office did not respond, and Nilsson said she did not have time to read it.

She added that she is “eager to enter into discussions” and hopes they can “reach a creative solution.”

But Forsberg and Bryant are hesitant. Their location is essential to their work, as many of their parishioners find them when they walk by on the way to the bus stop.

Like Michelle St. Pierre, who met Bryant when she was catching a bus to the ACI to visit her boyfriend three years ago. She’s been attending services ever since. And since her boyfriend’s release, he’s been volunteering — passing out sandwiches during the coffee hour.

“I’ve been through a lot of trials and tribulations with my family, my family passing away,” said St. Pierre. “The church actually comforted me. Something about them — they fill your heart with so much love it's not even funny. I don’t want to see them leave.”

jtempera@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7121

On Twitter: @jacktemp