A Seymour church that serves the poor, hungry, homeless and addicted soon will be moving to a new location.
The Alley has until July 31 to leave its current building at 416 E. Second St., but thanks to the generosity of a local businessman, the church has a temporary home.
Local commercial real estate owner and developer Andy Royalty of Seymour is allowing the church to take up residence in the former Save-A-Lot grocery store in the West Towne Plaza on the city’s west side.
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Tony Wesner, a board member of The Alley, approached Royalty, who also owns Royalty Companies of Indiana in Seymour, about needing a new location for the church.
The current building on East Second Street is owned by a local Guatemalan ministry that shares the space with The Alley. Because of growth of their own church, the Guatemalans are in need of the entire building to serve their congregation, said Tina Fleetwood, spokeswoman for The Alley.
The Alley has been on a month-by-month lease with the Guatemalan church since 2018.
“They have been so great to us by allowing us to stay this long,” Fleetwood said. “They have been nothing but kind to us, but they need more room.”
It’s going take a lot of work to get the former grocery store ready, but Fleetwood said Royalty’s offer comes as a blessing from God.
But the move is temporary until The Alley can find it’s forever home, Fleetwood said.
“I know God’s got us,” she said.
As part of its ministry, The Alley also operates a kitchen that serves free hot meals daily to those in need and a food pantry. Those services will continue at the new location. The pantry serves around 100 people each day in the summer.
“The kitchen goes where we go,” she said.
The church has worship services at 7 p.m. Fridays led by Senior Pastor Mitchell McIntyre.
Celebrate Recovery classes are conducted at 7 p.m. Wednesdays, and the kitchen serves meals from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Transportation is available by calling 812-946-0258. A food pantry is available every second and fourth Thursday.
Although the move will impact those people who walk to The Alley, Fleetwood said the church can provide transportation to and from the new site.
The new location also offers more parking for those who drive, she added.
Fleetwood said she doesn’t know when the new location will be open because there are many steps that have to be taken to get the building ready.
“We’re kind of in limbo right now because we have to get permits,” she said.
The church is working with the Jackson County Health Department to make sure the facility meets state and local health codes to serve food. They also have to get a building permit from the city.
Once they have the necessary permits, Fleetwood said it will take donations of time and money from the community to get The Alley up and running.
“We have a lot of churches that financially help us every month, and we get donations from people in the community,” she said. “We just have to have patience and faith that God has a plan for us and this is it.”
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Donations to The Alley can be made by mail to P.O. Box 191, Seymour, IN 47274.
To volunteer at The Alley or if you are in need of transportation to get a free hot meal, call kitchen manager Sara Bowling at 812-946-0258.
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