A church in Jefferson County that houses homeless people has won $100,000 in damages and attorneys' fees from Brookville Borough, which tried to shut down the program last year.

Brookville agreed to pay the damages and fees to First Apostles' Doctrine Church, located about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, last week as part of an agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. The ACLU filed suit against the borough in November 2008 on behalf of the church and the Rev. Jack Wisor, its pastor and founder of its ministry to the homeless, "Just for Jesus Challenge Homeless Outreach."

To the church, providing housing and Christian counseling to homeless people is part of its religious convictions and mission. Church officials said they serve mostly disabled military veterans, senior citizens, low-level offenders, evicted homeowners and renters, and people referred by mental-health agencies.

It's a perspective that some local government officials don't seem to understand, said Witold Walczak, the ACLU of Pennsylvania's legal director and a lawyer for the church.

"There seems to be this narrow view of religious use as simply being conventional church services, worship services," Mr. Walczak said. "Religious liberty encompasses far more than that."

Stephen French, Brookville's solicitor, could not be reached last night for comment.

In its lawsuit, the ACLU claimed the borough violated the church's religious beliefs by effectively shutting down its homeless ministry when it cited the church in August 2008 for zoning violations and refused to allow church officials to house homeless people in the parsonage.

The suit also claimed the borough's zoning inspector and several borough police officers violated the church's privacy rights by climbing into the church through a window after they had been refused permission to enter without a warrant.

After the suit was filed, the church and borough ultimately reached a temporary agreement that the church could house up to eight homeless people and three staff members. A final agreement this June said there was no limit on the number of people allowed to stay at the parsonage. The church has agreed to continue its practice of telling police about what homeless people are staying at the parsonage.

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