Large crowd shuts down hearing on Ocean County church plan to rent to homeschoolers

BRICK — A crowd packed the Brick Township municipal building Wednesday night and forced the rescheduling of a much-anticipated hearing that some residents worry could set new precedent.

Fellowship Chapel on Duchess Lane wants to rent out its small Sunday school building behind the church to a group of homeschoolers. But to do that, the church must first obtain a variance from the Brick Board of Adjustment to use the building as a school.

Residents from surrounding neighborhoods are expected to push back against the plan. Last week, a group of neighbors met with chapel Pastor Cliff Whitehead to share concerns ahead of the Wednesday Board of Adjustment hearing. They voiced worries about changing the land-use rules around the church, changes they believed could bring more bus and car traffic into the quiet neighborhood or open the door for large private schools to operate out of the small community church.

Church leaders told their neighbors that renting out the Sunday school — which has four classrooms, two separate bathrooms and an office, according to a real estate listing — would help raise extra income for the chapel that is faced with a shrinking congregation.

Rebeka Joyce of Brick runs an education program called "Liberty" and is looking to rent the chapel's Sunday school. Joyce is not her last name; she declined to disclose it to the Asbury Park Press because she said she is being harassed over the proposal at Fellowship Chapel.

"What I wish other people could see is how happy these kids are to come to school and to be with their friends," she told the Asbury Park Press in a phone interview. "When you homeschool at home, it's great. I'm doing it right now with my kids. But they (also) like to be with their friends."

Liberty is a collection of homeschooled children who meet from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. four days a week, according to the program's Facebook page. Nine children are currently enrolled in the program, which gives homeschoolers time to socialize, make friends and learn, Rebeka Joyce said.

More: Homeschooling grew during the pandemic. Why more NJ families are choosing the option

"The whole reason why I wanted to do this was to give more parents the ability to take their kids from public school, if they wanted to," she said. "Some (parents) I feel like are just stuck, and that (public school) is their only option. And it doesn't sit well with them."

Liberty gives these parents — many who have jobs that make homeschooling difficult or nearly impossible — an alternative, she said.

Wednesday's turnout at the Board of Adjustment hearing showed a community resistant to the church's variance request and Rebekah Joyce's plans to use the Sunday school.

When is the next hearing on Fellowship Chapel's application?

Roughly 100 people gathered inside the crowded municipal lobby before Board of Adjustment officials announced they would postpone the hearing and move it to a location that could fit a larger audience.

The next hearing on Fellowship Chapel's application is scheduled be at 7 p.m., May 1 at Brick Civic Plaza, 270 Chambers Bridge Road.

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than a decade. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Brick church Fellowship Chapel school rental plan draws hostile crowd