Breedlove takes senior pastor position with civic-minded church in Calif. -UPDATED-

According to Breedlove a local news source released the information about his new position before he was able to notify his congregation. “The only people who knew about this were the church elders and my family. I was going to announce it to the congregation and then notify the media.”

Breedlove stated the response has been overwhelming and frustrating due to the news release that came out Monday morning. “A couple of parishioners have been upset with the way the news was broke,” Breedlove stated. “Some of this has been directed at me but I had no control over it.”

Breedlove further stated that many have been understanding of the situation.

Pastor Chris Breedlove has accepted a position at the College Community Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Fresno, California. The church is an civic-minded church that according to their website supports grassroots empowerment, public witness, issue education and policy advocacy. Breedlove’s last day at the pulpit for Trinity United Church of Christ will be October 16.

[adrotate group=”1″]

Breedlove has been the polarizing opposite of Mayor William Schmitt in what became a battle between the Concerned Citizens Group and the City of Jasper over the conversion of the coal fired power plant to a gas/miscanthus fired power plant. Recently the newly formed Healthy Dubois County Inc. filed a suit against the city citing violations of Indiana’s Open Door Policy. The city has called the suit frivolous but Dubois Circuit Court Judge William Weikert has not filed an opinion yet.

Breedlove is a founding board member of the organization and will continue to be a member of the board in ex-officio status. He has been an outspoken leader in the movement and organization but he doesn’t feel that the organization will falter with his new status.  “The power of this grassroots movement is the combined strengths of our members,” He explained. “Some of us conducted the research, some raised funds, some of us spoke, and some of us went out to spread the word about the power plant.”

Even before becoming active in the movement Breedlove knew he would probably have to move on from Jasper regardless of the results. His interaction with city officials over the past year only further cemented the decision. “The adversarial reaction of Mayor Schmitt, Bud Hauersperger, and Wayne Schuetter to my position on the power plant influenced that decision,” Breedlove said. “I felt from the beginning that the mayor and I could have met and had some reciprocal points, agree on three to four points out of ten, but that never happened, but I am considered an adversary or a foe.”

Breedlove feels that his role in the biomass story is pastoral as well as dignified. “Before I became involved citizens were already voicing some concerns and making other people aware of what the city was planning. I just stepped up as a voicing those concerns for people that I think didn’t know or feel they should speak out.”

Breedlove explained his civic activism is influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. He stated he could see some a parallelism in King’s activism in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama and his own with the city. “King was criticized for his civic and political activism and I have been scrutinized for my activity as well.”

Breedlove believes it his duty to come out from behind to pulpit to engage the community. “I hope that my activism has inspired other people to state their thoughts and feelings in a dignified and honorable way.”