Chick-fil-A opens doors to displaced church congregation in Virginia
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The White Oak Community Church reached out to Chick-fil-A when their normal meeting place couldn't accommodate them. (Google Street View)
A Chick-fil-A restaurant in Sandston, Va., has agreed to open its doors on Sundays, but not for the reasons you’re thinking.
The fast food restaurant is allowing a displaced congregation from the White Oak Community Church to conduct its meetings inside the eatery until the group can find a more permanent solution, reports WTVR.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to a series of Facebook posts they shared between Sept. 3 and Sept. 11, the White Oak Community Church arrived at their usual place of worship — a local Econo Lodge — only to be informed that the hotel could not host their weekly gatherings due to “building issues.”
“The only legal use of any of the spaces are for the Econo Lodge to conduct business,” the church initially informed its followers. “We obviously do not have church this morning.”
White Oak was allowed to remove its equipment and supplies from the Econo Lodge, but canceled the day’s activities until they could work out a solution. Later that evening during an emergency meeting, one of the church members called her boss at Chick-fil-A, who agreed to let White Oak temporarily use its space.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“They are NOT open for business,” the church clarified in a subsequent Facebook post. “They have simply agreed to let us use their space for worship this week.”
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Lead pastor Dave Wilde, a veteran of the Marine Corps., also shared his appreciation for Chick-fil-A and its manager, sending a “huge thank you to Greg Williams and Chick-fil-A for graciously agreeing to host us next Sunday.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wilde, however, was quick to add that there would be no food served during the meeting. “[But] if you’re a current or future attender, and you always wanted to worship in a restaurant setting, this is your lucky day.”
Wilde also uploaded a video of Sunday’s Chick-fil-A-based sermon to Facebook, though the post has since been removed.
It is unclear if the group will continue to meet at Chick-fil-A this coming Sunday. White Oak later explained on Facebook that Econo Lodge had “fixed the building issues,” but would not be returning to the space for a “number of reasons.”
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Representatives for Chick-fil-A or the White Oak Community Church were not immediately available for comment.