Posted on 11/15/2003 9:31:24 PM PST by stage left
Ferndale weighs wisdom of annual Christmas display in front of City Hall
FERNDALE - Faced with budget constraints and the possibility of lawsuits, the city is considering whether to drop its annual Christmas display which features a Nativity scene and other religious icons and a Santa. The holiday decorations, with a central representation of Jesus Christ in the manger, have been part of Ferndale for more than four decades.
"We're putting all the religious symbols on hold for the holidays, pending a legal analysis," said City Manager Tom Barwin.
City Attorney Daniel Christ told the City Council that it should hold off deciding what to do about this year's decorations until he determines whether the decorations constitute an "excessive entanglement" between government and religion.
The city decorations include a nativity scene, Star of David, a Hanukkah menorah, a Kwanzaa symbol, and secular representations of Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman. They were put up annually in front of City Hall for more than a decade until last year when they were relocated to Kulick Community Center on Livernois.
The city of New Jersey lost a lawsuit in federal court six years ago for having holiday decorations almost identical to Ferndale's, Barwin said.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued Birmingham and Clawson over religious decorations more than 10 years ago.
Barwin said Ferndale's decorations were moved last year to what he calls the "more pastoral" setting of the Community Center where there are trees and more space. City Hall was decorated with only garland and lights.
"We last had (religious icons) in front of City Hall in 2001," Barwin said. "We got several calls that the decorations looked tacky all pushed together on a 20-by-20-foot section of property."
But resident Patricia Cissell wants the decorations, especially the Nativity scene, returned to City Hall.
"The Community Center is not centrally located," Cissell said. "If the city is going to promote the holiday season, the Nativity scene is part of the holiday because it represents Christmas."
The holiday decorations with religious icons in front of the Community Center generated no complaints last year, according to Marsha Mellert, head of the city recreation department.
Court rulings on a number of challenges to displays of religious symbols on governmental property vary according to the different federal courts that have considered the issue in the past, said attorney Christ.
The question is as old as the U.S. Constitution. Thomas Jefferson stated that the First Amendment erected a wall between church and state. In spite of that, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1971 that such displays were permissible if they included a secular representation, neither advanced nor inhibited a particular religion, and did not foster governmental entanglement with religion, according to the city's legal research so far, Barwin said.
"I really don't want to bait anybody and get us involved in costly litigation when our legal adviser has already told us our holiday scene is over the line," he said.
Cissell believes that the city has accommodated private political messages on city property before without incident, such as last June when officials allowed rainbow flags symbolizing gay pride to be attached to city light poles for a gay festival. She added that the city holiday scene with multiple religious icons and secular Christmas representations of Santa meets the Supreme Court test.
"As Christians, there are many rights that we have that are being taken away," she said. "We have a right to a display on city property in a decent manner."
Mayor Robert Porter said the city almost ended up in court more than a decade ago when it had Christmas decorations of only the Nativity scene. The city was able to head off a lawsuit by including other religious icons in the decorations, he said.
"It's a shame we even have to worry about this stuff," Porter said. "We want to have some decorations to enhance the community, but then we've got to be careful. The city has enough on its plate. We don't need to be dipping into city coffers to defend ourselves in court over where we place a Santa or a Nativity scene."
Contact Michael P. McConnell at mike.mcconnell@dailytribune.com or 248-591-2571.
City Manager Tom Barwin can be reached at 248-546-2360
http://www.ferndale-mi.com/
Did Jefferson erect such a wall?
The man ought to change his name if it is such an embarrassment to him.
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