St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral officially approved as cold-weather shelter in OKC

Dale Denwalt, The Oklahoman
The Rev. Katie Churchwell, dean of St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, speaks Tuesday to the Oklahoma City Council in support of a temporary cold shelter for the homeless.
The Rev. Katie Churchwell, dean of St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, speaks Tuesday to the Oklahoma City Council in support of a temporary cold shelter for the homeless.

The Oklahoma City Council approved a temporary shelter for the homeless at Tuesday's regular meeting.

By a unanimous vote, the council agreed to let St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral establish a cold-weather temporary shelter on its grounds at 127 NW 7, near Automobile Alley between Broadway and Robinson.

The Rev. Katie Churchwell, dean of St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, told the city council on Tuesday that she was asking forgiveness because she didn't know she needed to first ask permission to open up the church to homeless residents. The church first began offering a temporary shelter two winters ago at the suggestion of the organization OK End Homelessness.

"It was the easiest and hardest 'yes' I've made in quite some time," Churchwell said. "We are a church. We're not a shelter. In some ways, we have a great space to temporarily have people stay with us, and in other ways we don't."

For example, the church doesn't have showers but has a kitchen and large fellowship area.

During a stretch of frigid temperatures in early 2023, mattresses were arranged along the wall in Dean Wiley Hall at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, which opens its doors during extremely cold weather.
During a stretch of frigid temperatures in early 2023, mattresses were arranged along the wall in Dean Wiley Hall at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, which opens its doors during extremely cold weather.

"When it came to honoring our call, both as Christians and Episcopalians to respect the dignity of every human being, we realized our own personal comfort did not supersede the actual lives of humans who will in fact die if they're exposed to such frigid temperatures for prolonged periods of time," Churchwell said.

Church will be able to house up to 70 people during freezing weather

According to the church's application, St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral will provide emergency shelter for up to 70 people during bitterly cold weather — specifically, the shelter will open when the city's Cold Weather Contingency Plan is triggered by three consecutive days of high temperatures below freezing.

The church is providing the physical space, while other organizations like City Care, OK End Homelessness and the Homeless Alliance will oversee planning, staffing and administration of the shelter when it's open.

Those seeking shelter will remain inside and won't be allowed to congregate on church grounds. Once the weather passes and the temporary shelter shuts down, participants will be asked to leave and may be offered a ride to another shelter or location.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: St. Paul's Episcopal in OKC approved as cold-weather shelter

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