Here is a story from my old hometown, Chattanooga, TN about a church downtown and the battles between the church, it’s pastor, and the city government. The church operates Club Fathom, a youth outreach program. Many in the city view it as a club and not an outreach program at all. There is a history of violence there dating back to at least 2006. Many feel that the church is a nuisance, but others feel that it is not easy for the young to escape gangs, that unless they receive the help they need, in spite of repercussions from active gang members, they cannot be saved, that the church and pastor are courageously attempting to offer a hand up to youth in need. As the article states, “The establishment’s history includes fights, shootings, and stabbings.” Nine people were shot here Christmas morning. The church is moving out of the building they occupy and it is unclear whether services will continue in another location. Complicating the issue further, this is taking part in an area of Chattanooga undergoing so-called “gentrification” so some people feel this is an attempt to keep these people out of an area based on racial and social concerns.
From The Times Free Press. A Christmas morning shooting that injured nine people is further evidence that the downtown club where the brawl began is a public nuisance that should be dealt with quickly, city officials said Monday.
Club Fathom has a long history of teen violence dating back to at least 2006 and has faced city ire in the past.
“This place has consistently been a problem and the owners are not addressing the problem,” city spokesman Richard Beeland said. “We are talking to the city attorney to see what our options are.”
Chattanooga police said nine people — five juveniles and four adults — were shot when rival gang members began firing at each other in a crowd of about 400 teens leaving a Christmas Eve party at Club Fathom located in a building run by Mosaic Church on Market Street.
Police believe the Club Fathom brawl, which happened shortly after midnight, led to at least two other incidents, including another shooting near College Hill Courts. Police Spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary said police would not release any additional information about the incident until today.
Police have not released the names of those injured near Club Fathom, but said no injuries appeared to be life-threatening. Police released Sunday the name of 18-year-old Thomas Heffner, who was shot in the hand near College Hill Courts sometime after leaving the downtown melee.
Fliers outside the building advertised a candlelight Christmas Eve service from midnight to 1 a.m., while an online ad billed a “Smash or Pass Christmas Bash,” where no ID was required. That advertisement featured a woman in red lingerie and a Santa hat.
On a Facebook page advertising the candlelight service, Mosaic pastor Tim Reid noted the candlelight service ended at 1 am, but everyone was welcome to hang out until 2:30 am.
It was not clear Monday whether one event or two were held in the building on Christmas Eve. Club Fathom is listed on Mosaic’s website as a teen-centered outreach ministry of the church and arts venue. The building has two entrances, one near Cherry Street, and another at 412 Market St. The shooting happened in the parking lot behind the Cherry Street entrance.
Reid could not be reached on Monday and did not appear at home Monday afternoon at an address listed in his name.
A post on Mosiac’s Facebook page said, “Our hearts go out to those hurt downtown this weekend! We are still having events as planned, this Friday Concert in the Gallery with Bluesmaster Bob Carty!”
Chattanooga City Council Chairwoman Pam Ladd said the club is a nuisance and public safety concern.
“I’m extremely concerned to hear that yet again we have had a disturbance at that establishment,” she said. “Just what I’m seeing in results and outcomes from that establishment, I’m very concerned with the operations there.”
Ladd said city officials will study what action they can take against the club. She said such incidents put members of the public in harm’s way.
“This shouldn’t be happening within their walls. But it certainly shouldn’t spill out onto the street and open us all up to danger,” she said. “We just cannot continue to have that happen in our downtown — anywhere in our city.”
The establishment’s history includes fights, shootings and stabbings following late-night events.
“Certainly what happened the other evening was a nuisance,” Ladd said. “And it doesn’t appear that this was an isolated incident.”
In August 2009, Littlefield told Reid to stop his Saturday night activities or the city would close down the establishment. That order followed a series of late-night fights, shootings and stabbings near the club.
“I told him frankly that I felt like he was running a business masquerading as a church,” Littlefield told a Times Free Press reporter at the time.
Several people who work at businesses near Mosiac expressed concern about the shootings, but said the venue provided a needed place for teenagers to hang out.
Steve Root, a manager at Panera Bread, said his two sons used to go to events at the club. The club has had problems in the past, but has seemed quieter in the last year or so, he said.
“I’m really sorry that it happened,” Root said. “There are kids from all over — Signal Mountain, outside the city and urban kids — that come there. It seems kids just don’t behave; their mom and dad don’t care like they should.”
Root said he moved to Chattanooga in 1979, when downtown was a place you wouldn’t venture at night. Now he hopes the latest events won’t spread that same message.
“I think the police did a great job in addressing the problem,” he said.
Mosaic’s website says the organization aims to draw in 50 percent of its funding from hosting in-house events. The venue rents out its space for concerts, parties and the unaffiliated River City Church.
Reid’s latest IRS form 990 tax filing from 2009 classifies the operation, called “Fathom, Inc.,” as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It’s not classified as a church or religious institution, but rather falls under the category of family counseling and marriage counseling.
An online poll asking whether Club Fathom should be shutdown shows 77% in favor of shutting it down, with 23% opposed. Comments following the article are many and heated. The argument is whether this pastor is running a church, or a night club, whether the city has genuine cause to shut it down, or whether nobody wants to deal with the flak from helping ex-gang members.
Here is one comment I copied. Many of the comments range from the sad old Nazi tripe to the ship them back mentality.
plsopenurmindb4uspk said…
I’m African American and I live in Chattanooga, and I’m sooo sick of the black youth violence in Chattanooga! Even though it pains me to say it, the majority of violence in Chattanooga is black-on-black crime by youth and it makes me so mad, disappointed, and embarrassed. Yes, there are stories of Meth labs and shooting involving white people but those incidents are often isolated to the perp and victim, and don’t spill out into the streets involving innocent bystanders. My husband and I want to open an upscale lounge downtown and we’re having the hardest time trying to secure a descent location in the downtown area for our establishment, and not that I could ever really prove it, I do believe part of it is because I’m black and the majority of black owned/operated/ patroned businesses downtown end up in the news for riots, shooting, or stabbings which makes it harder for “good” black people in Chattanooga because we’re all lumped into one group (unfairly), and we only have ourselves to blame as community for that. The black community does need to step up, and that’s not only in Chattanooga, but all over. It’s like the black community crumbled when MLK was killed and we’ve never had that sense of unity since. Whenever someone tries to broach the topic black people don’t want to hear the truth (referring to the Bill Cosby backlash when he spoke against African Americans) whether its coming from white or black people. To say that black people have equal opportunities as whites in America is untrue but black people can’t continue to use the white oppression excuse for generations on end which unfortunately some do. My parents raised me with the mentality that “your BLACK (and dark skin, not like like Beyonce which makes it even harder in America) plus you’re a Woman so you’re always going to have to give 210% when everyone else (white or light) will only have to give 100%” and that’s just the sad reality we live in America. I’m glad my parents raised me w/ that in mind because it has helped me succeed thus far and will continue to do so in the future at almost anything I put my mind to. Unfortunately not all kids grow up with loving parents which is where the black community needs to step in when raising our own and take care of our own and not be afraid or feel like a “sale out” when we condemn each other’s actions. Fathers are needed in the home, women need to choice your spouse’s better, and we need to revive the “Black is Beautiful, Strong, and Proud” mentality we had.