Mercy Culture Accuses Fort Worth of Discrimination Over Human Trafficking Shelter Projects

Senior pastors at Mercy Culture Church are accusing the city of Fort Worth of discrimination over bureaucratic procedures delaying the development of a shelter project for victims of human trafficking.

The church applied for a commercial building permit July 10, but a city review of the application determined the proposed 100-bed shelter did not comply with Fort Worth land use rules.

The city is asking Mercy Culture to rezone its property before building the shelter. This would require a public hearing before the Zoning Commission and approval from the City Council.

These rules infringe on the church’s religious freedom, Senior Pastor Heather Schott told her congregation on Sunday. She noted that the church’s current zoning, established in 2004, allows “church-related activities.”

“The City of Fort Worth and the Zoning Board, let me be clear, do not determine what these activities are. The Bible does,” she said.

The proposed shelter is part of the church’s justice reform ministry, which seeks to rehabilitate victims of human trafficking.

The two-story building would include a dining room, exercise room, offices, gathering spaces and two floors of residential rooms for up to 115 people, according to the building permit application and plans obtained by the Star-Telegram through an open call. request for registration.

Mercy Culture filed a site plan amendment Aug. 5 that, if approved by the Zoning Commission and City Council, would allow the church to build the shelter.

She also requested a zoning change on Aug. 26, according to the city’s online permitting website. However, Heather Schott disputed this in her sermon on Sunday.

“We haven’t asked for a zoning change because we don’t need one,” she said.

Church officials did not respond to an email from the Star-Telegram seeking clarification on the Aug. 26 zoning change request.

Schott’s husband and co-senior pastor, Landon Schott, also cited a federal law intended to protect religious institutions from discrimination to argue that the city was overstepping its authority by requiring a zoning change.

Both pastors called on their congregation to pressure city council members to approve the church site plan so the project could move forward. A petition asking the city to approve the project had 1,639 signatures as of 10:15 a.m. Oct. 1.

They specifically called out Mayor Mattie Parker, telling her it was time for her to show through action that she was committed to the fight against human trafficking.

“We’re going to let the city know that Mercy Culture is kind and kind of wild,” Landon Schott said.

Deputy City Manager Dana Burghdoff acknowledged Mercy Culture’s concerns while adding that the city “is committed to following appropriate processes to ensure all legal and zoning requirements are met, as we do for any project of this scale”, in a statement to Télégramme star.

The city plans meetings with church leaders to review next steps and ensure the city’s processes are clear, she said.

“Like many Fort Worth residents, I believe in the importance of combating human trafficking and supporting survivors,” Parker said in a statement to the Star-Telegram.

“In the coming days, I will host a meeting with church and city leaders to discuss the process, outline next steps, and explore a path forward that serves the best interests of our community and aligns with our common mission,” she said.

Mercy Culture has been trying to get the project off the ground since December 2021, but has faced opposition from residents in the nearby Oakhurst neighborhood due to concerns about parking and safety.

This drew the ire of Mercy Culture Church pastor Landon Schott, who called opponents of the project “senseless demonic resistance” during a May 2023 sermon.

Heather Schott held a meeting with Oakhurst residents in March 2022 to discuss the project, however, several attendees said they received no answers to their questions.

“It was just them preaching why it was the right thing to do,” said Katheryn Omarkhail, vice president of the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association.

Schott, in his Sunday sermon, described some of the meeting participants as “a group of agitators who hate Christian values.”

No one in the neighborhood is opposed to the mission to help trafficking victims, but there are concerns about locating the shelter in a residential neighborhood, Omarkhail said.

She pointed to the church’s proximity to Interstate 35W, saying it would be easy for human traffickers to take their victims onto the nearby highway.

Omarkhail compared Mercy Culture’s allegations of discrimination to Landon Schott’s previous comments calling Oakhurst residents warlocks and demons.

“Just spin this in any way possible to get public support,” she said.