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BUCKHANNON – Feed My Sheep Food Outreach will remain in its current location — at least for now.
The local organization, which helps feed more than 40,000 people each year, contacted an attorney after learning it was facing potential eviction due to a dispute with the West Virginia District Pentecostal Church of God.
Bryan Sinclair, president of Feed My Sheep and pastor of Faith Tabernacle, said the disagreement began after the Upshur County church sought to separate from the West Virginia Pentecostal Church of God over differing views on outreach.
“The direction that Feed My Sheep food outreach is going, we felt like we could not be partnering with or be associated with an organization and do what we need to do for the community,” Sinclair said. “Their views differ on outreach from our views, so there was a conflict there. We just felt it would be better to just separate from the organization.”
That’s when the property dispute began.
“They sent me a letter stating they wanted us to vacate the property, including the Feed My Sheep Food Outreach building and the Faith Tabernacle Church,” Sinclair said. “The letter said they would give us 30 days to vacate, so their decision might compromise what we have going on here in the community.”
According to Sinclair, the wording on the deed says the local Faith Tabernacle Church owns half and the West Virginia Pentecostal Church of God owns half. A deed dated May 1993 transfers the property from Rick and Brenda Wyatt to the two organizations.
“It is the intent of all the parties hereto that this conveyance is for the building of a church and associated buildings for the Faith Tabernacle Pentecostal Church of God, and this conveyance is made solely upon the express condition that the subject tract or parcel is utilized for the public worship of God,” the deed reads.
Sinclair is the current pastor of Faith Tabernacle.
“It feels like they are trying to stiff-arm us out,” Sinclair said. “It’s not about the money; it’s about making sure our outreach stays stable for the community. That’s our goal with all this. I don’t know how this will shake out, if we might be able to purchase their half, or if we will need to find a space somewhere else.”
The West Virginia District of the Pentecostal Church of God did not return several calls seeking comment on this story. Someone from the phone number listed on the organization’s website did send a text message that stated, “I am just a pastor and am not involved in or have firsthand knowledge of the situation… I passed your messages along.”
The letter said Feed My Sheep would need to vacate the property at 2357 Brushy Fork Road by Sept. 6. But this week, Sinclair said the organization would remain at the location — at least for now — after contacting an attorney to review the situation.
“We contacted a lawyer, and he went over all the agreements and everything that lawyers do, and basically said that they cannot kick us out of the building because we are the co-owners,” Sinclair said Tuesday.
For now, it’s a waiting game.
“Long story short, the lawyer said they cannot kick us out of the property,” Sinclair said. “It either has to go one of two ways. They can bring a lawsuit against us, or they can buy our portion out, or we can buy their portion out. Until one of those happens, there’s really nothing that they can do.”
That means Feed My Sheep will continue to operate at the location for the foreseeable future.
“We’re just kind of in limbo right now,” Sinclair said. “I wanted to make sure they cannot force us out somehow, and now that we’re clear on that legal side of it, we’re just going to continue to have our outreach and have church until we hear one way or the other.”
Because of the amount of food that moves through the location, making a change quickly would be difficult.
“Our motto is, ‘Do as much as you can, for as many as you can, for as long as you can,’ and if something were to happen where we had to leave, there’s just no way it would happen quickly,” said Rosemarie Sinclair, health and safety officer for Feed My Sheep. “We have a vast amount of stuff, and now we have two more Connex boxes that were generously donated. Our facility is bursting at the seams.”
If forced to close, Rosemarie Sinclair said West Virginia would be losing a source of food that serves more than just the Upshur County area.
“We’re devastated we couldn’t find a resolution when we met with them. I guess they couldn’t see that our heart is with the community, and not just our local community. We love our local community, but it’s the whole central West Virginia area we serve,” Rosemarie Sinclair said. “Anybody can come, and there have been many who have come from the Charleston area or Parkersburg — many different places. They carpool, and we make it worth their while when they come.”
Lisa George, director of Feed My Sheep, said they serve about 42,000 people in a year.
“We have a monthly giveaway on the fourth Saturday of every month; we have pop-ups twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays; we have a senior box program; we have a homeless program; we do all the blessing boxes in Upshur County; and we have a free Christmas store,” George said. “We have a backpack back-to-school program, and we have a weekend food bag backpack program for the schools.”
George said they even had plans to expand their storage capabilities at their current location before learning they might have to leave.
“We had plans to go all the way out, eight feet from the road and back here, so that would give us plenty of room,” George said. “I hope people may say extra prayers for us so this will resolve and we can keep our facility where it is. Or if anybody out there in this wonderful community has a warehouse sitting idle, please let us know.”
Bryan Sinclair said they hope to resolve the dispute soon, so they don’t suffer any service disruptions.
“It comes back to space and having a secure place where we don’t have to worry about somebody kicking us out, because this has been established for around five years now, and we’re a vital part of the community. We don’t want to lose that,” he said. “For us, it’s about continuing this program.”
