St. Paul’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church Files Federal Lawsuit Against The Town Of Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, Md. — St. Paul’s By-The-Sea Episcopal Church has officially filed a federal lawsuit against Mayor Rick Meehan and the Town of Ocean City.

The church filed the lawsuit June 16, seeking protections under the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The church is also seeking damages, citing stress caused by the ongoing dispute.

Pastor Jill said she and the church’s senior warden have been fined daily throughout June, with total fines reaching $24,000 as of Tuesday.

The church has not paid any of the fines and is awaiting a response from the town.

“That money, time and energy should be going to ministry and helping people,” Pastor Jill said. “Instead, it’s going to worry, stress and figuring out how to fight such a system.”

She said the town is expected to respond by July 16.

“We expect to have a response from the city by July 16, as I understand it,” she said. “We will wait and see and hopefully await a decision from the federal court.”