NorCo Council Poised to Approve Steeple Grant in Easton

Based on an equivocal opinion from Solicitor Chris Spadoni, Northampton County Council is poised to gift $20,000 for the steeple restoration of Easton's United Church of Christ. During a hearing on this matter, one congregant called it a "beacon of hope and faith." That's more or less why no government funds should be spent. This grant promotes religion, and one specific kind of religion over others.

Lori Vargo Heffner, who was on the selection committee that made the original mistake, plans tpperpetuate her error and vote for it. She claimed that Council has in the past given gifts to churches. I defy her to cite one example in which Northampton County donated any money to a church so it could promote its religion. Even if it's true, that's no reason to continue violating the Establishment Clause.

Matt Dietz, participating by phone, gave an explanation that is borderline moronic. He claims it is "almost" discrimination NOT to promote this church and its religion. He should read the First Amendment.

Bob Werner is supporting it because he represents the Easton district and it's historic. The Constitution applies in Easton, too, Bob.

My guess is that Peg Ferraro, and John Cusick will go along, meaning there are at least five or more votes

Ron Heckman is a No. He dislikes the support of one specific church. He is also quite concerned that Northampton County is buying a lawsuit. I believe several groups could take the county to court, wasting far more money than the grant is worth.

What this is really about is taking care of a connected insider, Mike Dowd.

NorCo Council Will Pray on Proposed Steeple Grant

UCC's Doreen Arnold

I told you yesterday that NorCo Council was scheduled to vote on a proposed $20,000 grant to restore the steeple at First United Church of Christ in Easton. This incredibly bad idea is the brainchild of Rev. Mike Dowd, who is taking advantage of his numerous county connections to put the squeeze on in a way no other religious organization has even considered. I expected this to sail through Council because it is buried among 38 grants.I was wrong. Council spent nearly an hour questioning Rev. Dowd,  who brought several members of his congregation with him to make a sales pitch. They voted 9-0 to table this grant while Council Solicitor Chris Spadoni researches whether this violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

Council member John Cusick made the motion to extract this grant, and everyone agreed.

The 187' tall steeple was touted as a "landmark" and as a "beacon of hope and faith " That's precisely why no government funds should be invested.

I have no problem with grants to fund secular projects at a religious institution. But church and government should be kept apart. As Justice George Carlin once observed, "My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death."

NorCo Council Should Deny Church Steeple Grant

Chicken Church

Northampton County Council has a busy agenda tonight. It will be considering a $35 million bond, budget amendments, the termination of two dormant authorities, the purchase of Bethlehem's radio system for 911 and the termination of the helipad lease at Gracedale. It is also considering a resolution to approve 38 CIPP grants paid for with $849,000 in table games taxes. With so much going on, it's very easy for something to slip between the cracks. That's exactly what's going to happen with a $20,000 grant intended fir the First United Church of Christ in Easton. It's not for some secular purpose, like a food bank or an after school program. It is for a religious purpose. The money is intended to finance the restoration of the church steeple. I have two problems with this grant. First, it's blatantly unconstitutional. Second, it's an obvious favor for Rev.Mike Dowd, a former Council member who still has his hands in everything.

Church steeples are very common in Christian churches.They are symbols of man's attempt to reach the heavens or the Divine. They serve a religious purpose. As explained in Alletia,

Steeples were also used to remind a local community to remain focused on God. Other secular buildings were usually built lower than the church steeple, making the local church the highest and most important building of the town. You couldn’t go anywhere in town without seeing the steeple and as a result be reminded about your duty to God.

Government money should never be spent to remind the local community about their duty to God.

Just last year, the Supreme Court ruled that a state grant to a church for playground surfacing was consistent with the Establishment Clause. Obviously, the grant was for a secular purpose. No one religion was given preference over another.  There was no excessive entanglement of religious and governmental institutions.

This grant is the polar opposite. The money for a steeple serves no purpose other than religious. The grant gives preference to Christianity, where steeples are the norm. The government is directly involving itself in one specific church's attempt to reach the Divine

There are numerous churches out there. Shiloh Baptist Church has a completely secular after-school mentoring program. Other churches have food pantries. Even more churches sponsor athletic programs. there are even some churches with steeples of their own in need of restoration.  Easton's Rock Church has a steeple that desperately needs restoration.

Did any of this churches even know that we are now in the business of handing out money to them? I doubt it. Rev. Mike Dowd knew because of his involvement in the Chamber, and made sure to pass the collection plate, to the exclusion of other churches.

This is totally wrong.

County Executive Lamont McClure tells me, "I believe in God and the First Amendment."

Well, you can believe in both and deny this grant.

NorCo Council Playing Favorites With Religion

Although the audio of the prayer offered by the Fake Rev before Tuesday's Northampton County Council meeting is missing, the "glorious name of Jesus" was invoked several times. It treated nonChristians as religious outsiders. It created the impression that Northampton County Council plays favorites among religions.

I refused to participate, primarily because the Fake Rev is a fraud. For exercising my constitutional right, I have been attacked by this little demagogue and his minions on other blogs, proving why it was wrong to ask him to offer an invocation.

Northampton County Council has no policy concerning invocations before their meetings. When Ron Angle was president, he invited clergy of all faiths to open meetings. Cusick stopped that practice, relying on one Christian minister for a year's worth of meetings. Now he's opened up the floor to an phony, who can't complete a sentence without talking about Jesus, and is quick to claim that anyone who disagrees with him is possessed.

There's nothing wrong with a governmental body seeking Divine guidance so long as the prayers offered are nonsectarian. But as the Eleventh Circuit recently ruled, sectarian prayers like the one offered by the Fake Rev., violate the Establishment Clause. They create an atmosphere in which someone feels compelled to bow his head in mock reverence, especially if he has something to say during public comment. They send a signal of exclusion, rather than welcome. Instead of religious tolerance, they promote discord.

If Council President John Cusick is unwilling to take the time to find any of the many area clergymen willing to offer nonsectarian prayers before meetings, he should stop the practice altogether. As it stands, he is violating the Establishment Clause.

Updated 1/6/12, 2:28 AM: The Fake Rev is claiming that his invocation during Monday afternoon's reorganization has been censored, apparently at my request. I wonder if he subscribes to Paranoia Weekly. I noticed the audio was not working when I started working on this post, and suspect it's likely because somebody forgot to turn on the mike. But so far as I know, nobody has tried to censor Martinez' prayer.

Bethlehem's Newest Magistrate: Buddy Christ!

Yesterday, I got a love note from Scott J. Hough, P.S.C. You probably recognize Ph. D., D.V.M. or even Q.C. But there's only a special few among us who know what P.S.C. means.

Give up?

I'll give you a hint. The love note, which was really a postcard, told me this: "NOTICE. A warrant for your arrest has been issued. Failure to respond to this notice will result in your arrest at home or at work." P.S.C. stands for Pennsylvania State Constable. Once again, I had neglected a Bethlehem parking ticket and was facing the big house. I donned my rubber underwear and headed immediately for District Judge Stocklas' office on Broad Street.

So why the hell am I confessing my criminal behavior? Because of what I saw when I arrived at Stocklas' office. Inside his office, there's a courtroom. You enter this courtroom through a glass door. And emblazoned on this door, for the entire world to see, are these words. "Jesus is Lord of Bethlehem."

Seriously, what is up with that? Ladies behind the counter told me the courtroom door "came that way." One of them said, "It's funny. Just last week, someone was asking why that was there." I wonder if this someone was a Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist litigant. I don't think they'd feel very confident in the court's impartiality.

A little more than a year has passed since our Supreme Court ordered a Kentucky court to remove a courthouse display of the Ten Commandments. Its purpose was to advance a religious, as opposed to secular, message. In some cases, a similar display can be considered secular or might have historical signifigance. But "[w]hen the government acts with the ostensible and predominant purpose of advancing religion, it violates the central Establishment clause value of official religious neutrality."

No secular purpose is advanced by "Jesus is Lord of Bethlehem." It clearly promotes Christianity over other religions. Northampton County President Judge Freedberg should order its immediate removal. It's great in a church, but has no place in a courtroom unless Jimmy Stocklas thinks he's Buddy Christ.

Update From Court Administrators: I emailed Northampton County Court Administrators twice at their email contact address. Both emails were returned by that devil, the Mailer Daemon. This is what the Devil tells me. "500 POSSIBLE UNSOLICITED MAIL DETECTED / APPEARS TO BE SPAM." Why do governments even bother to set up email contact addresses if they reject everything you send them? That's one reason I have this blog.

I called and spoke directly to court administrator Jim Onembo. He explains the sign as a leftover from a prior tenant, and assures me it will be blocked until it can be removed. I appreciate his quick response to an obvious violation of the Establishment clause.