Abp. Alexei Supports Closure of Liquor Store in Alaskan Community
A Marshall community petition and church letter converge in a call to close a local liquor store over alcohol-related concerns.
MARSHALL, AK — Abp. Alexei of Sitka and Alaska of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) issued a pastoral letter supporting closure of the Marshall liquor store, urging the community toward healing, sobriety, and peace for future generations. The letter accompanies a petition effort to shut down the liquor store from local residents.
Describing alcoholism as a spiritual wound affecting families and homes, His Eminence called on residents to stand together in compassion and mutual care. "Therefore, we speak today not against our brothers and sisters who struggle, but for them," Abp. Alexei said. "Those wounded by alcohol are not strangers. They are beloved children of God. They are our relatives, our neighbors, our friends, our own flesh and blood."
His Eminence stated that if there is a "legal and honorable way" for the store to be closed, it should be done. He encouraged the community not to be afraid of "doing what is right," as "the Christian conscience cannot remain silent."
"To stand against alcohol in a wounded village is not cruelty," the Archbishop said. "It is fathers and mothers standing guard over their homes. It is young people saying that their future will not be stolen. It is elders saying that the village entrusted to them is still worth defending. It is a whole people rising together, not in anger, but in faith, mercy, and hope."
The petition submitted to the Marshall City Council calls for revoking the liquor store’s license, citing public safety concerns, youth risk, health risks, and cultural values. Residents argue the store contributes to violence, addiction, and community instability, and request immediate closure.
One of the supporters who signed the petition commented:
After doing a recent study of homelessness for a school project, I came upon the saddening statistic of increasing alcoholism among Alaskans living in poverty. I also witnessed the body of a homeless person, who probably suffered a medical condition from alcoholism (I made this inference from the empty liquor bottles next to his body), covered in a white blanket and being carried into an ambulance. If this will help cleanse this God-protected land from this habit [alcoholism], which is destructive both physically, spiritually, and mentally, then this petition has the full force of my support.
The population of Marshall is 455. The petition currently has 70 signatures, or roughly 15% of the population.
Previously, the UOJ reported that Jordanville monks opposed a massive wind development.
