Posted on 08/24/2022 12:11:13 PM PDT by Trump.Deplorable
A beach pier in Ocean Grove destroyed during Superstorm Sandy is being rebuilt by a local religious organization, but the new shape has some residents concerned it too closely resembles a cross.
Members of the small seaside town’s LGTBQ+ community and allies are saying the cross crosses a line, but many are afraid to voice their grievances with the Camp Meeting Association, said Douglas Grote, a local resident and retired Presbyterian pastor.
The cross-shaped pier feels like “Christian bullying,” said Grote, who has penned letters to local and state officials asking for intervention.
“I am so deeply concerned,” he said. ”And I am so concerned from my neighbors who are scared and bullied.”
Ocean Grove, referred to as God’s Square Mile by some of its residents, is a seaside community of roughly 3,000 residents located just south of Asbury Park. It’s technically not its own town — Ocean Grove is a small section of Neptune Township, set aside with a unique charter.
It was founded more than 150 years ago as a summertime, tent-revival religious retreat. It was governed by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist ministry, as a religious enclave for 100 years until the New Jersey Supreme Court declared its charter unconstitutional after a series of lawsuits.
However, the Camp Meeting Association still owns all the land and has enormous influence on the community and its residents. When buying a home in Ocean Grove, residents must enter into a land-lease agreement with the camp, meaning while residents and businesses can own buildings in Ocean Grove, the Methodist group owns the land.
The camp’s authority also extends to the beach, boardwalk and all its associated staff and activities.
The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association broke ground on its pier restoration project during a ribbon cutting ceremony in July, when camp leadership unveiled a rendering showing the redesigned pier in the shape of a cross.
The new design is practical, functional and an improvement over the prior design, according to Michael Badger, president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.
When asked if the pier was purposely redesigned to resemble a Christian cross, seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus, Badger said the design was, “highly functional, to be in the shape that it’s been designed to be.”
The boardwalk in Ocean Grove has been repaired in the years since Superstorm Sandy, but the full length of its pier —which once housed a members-only fishing club — was never reconstructed, Badger said.
That’s why the camp embarked on a three-year fundraising campaign called “American Treasure,” ultimately raising $550,000 to go toward a new pier and beachfront facilities. The camp is using $750,000 of internal resources to meet the $1.3 million needed to complete the full restoration.
A website launched in 2019 for the fundraiser includes a concept rendering of the new pier. The fundraiser was open to the public, not just members of the Camp Meeting Association.
“The completed pier will provide a publicly accessible attraction for all to enjoy; new opportunities for our community; future programs, and enjoyment for generations to come,” a website for the American Treasure fundraiser reads.
The new design will restore the Ocean Grove pier to its historic length of 500 feet and include additional observation angles, as well as new safety features, according to the Camp Meeting Association.
There’s been a lot of support for the project, Badger said.
The project received approvals from the state under the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, according to Neptune Township Business Administrator Gina LaPlaca.
“Because it is property owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, and over water, the township did not have any zoning authority over the pier’s placement or design,” LaPlaca said.
Since the pier project did not have to go through local officials for approval, many residents were surprised by the new cross-shaped pier design, said Shane Martins, an attorney who sits on the Neptune Zoning Board and lives in Ocean Grove.
Martins, who is gay, said even if he’s not personally offended by the design, “it’s not just about me, there’s other people being hurt.”
“Once this pier is built like a cross, I believe that will be the point of a no return,” Martins said. “To say that cross doesn’t represent Christian nationalism, anyone who says that isn’t being honest.”
The complete pier will be accessible to the public and it will not include any exclusive, membership-only component, said Badger.
Construction will begin the week of Sept. 12, according to the Camp Meeting Association.
This is not the first time the Methodist group has faced secular and LGBTQ+ complaints.
In 2012, a state administrative law judge found the camp violated the state’s law against discrimination when it denied two Ocean Grove residents the use of its boardwalk pavilion for their 2007 civil union ceremony.
After the dispute, the Camp Meeting Association nixed the possibility of all weddings, gay or straight, at its boardwalk pavilion by prohibiting private events and ceremonies at the facility.
AH, my bad... thanks for that — I should have read more carefully.
A pier with three sections just gives more space for people to go and enjoy the pier.
A cross shape is the simplest design to make the most efficient use of space.
Honestly, maybe this country does need a good nationwide upheaval or natural disaster. Something to help people focus on real issues, like survival. Get rid of this take offense at everything crap. People have way too much time on their hands if this is the sort of garbage they are flipping out about.
The Babylon Bee probably will.
Legalizing sodomy was a huge mistake
Some people fear the symbol.
Let’s remove all the ‘T’s. LGB? community hardest hit.
I'm starting to see the term "Christian Nationalism" used more and more...
Also..."white Christian racism"..., etc..
Just what are these people afraid of from us God fearing folk...?
Hmm....
Exactly.
Invading a Christian community and complaining about crosses is like going into a strip club and complaining about the nudity.
They should tell these idiots, “if you don’t like it go somewhere else; there is plenty of other places to go.”
Is that for real?
the cross crosses a line
I'm positive I've never heard that phrase before.
I spent the summer of 1985 in Wildwood, NJ on a summer mission project with Campus Crusade for Christ.
I’ve got some great memories
Oh these idiots would really be torqued by my new t shirt: it depicts an American flag with a cross superimposed over it and the phrase “one nation under God” written below and the verse “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” underneath.
Knowing them approved would be the word.
“...said Douglas Grote, a local resident and retired Presbyterian pastor.” We recently left the Presbyterian church. Ours was pretty conservative but enough is enough.
A bit of web searching says he's associated with Siloam-Hope Presbyterian Church. PCUSA, no surprise there.
All our welcome at our new church too.
We just don’t allow them to be pastors or have leadership roles.
Full Bizarre, Demonic Gotthard Tunnel Opening Ceremony, Satanic, New World Order, Illuminati Ritual
But a rainbow cross walk is just fine, right? It has nothing to do with intimidation or threats against those who think what that rainbow cross walk represents, right?
rainbow cross walks are specifically designed as threats and intimidation just like the large BLM signs and paintings on streets are design to do. And in these cases, it is governments who are creating the crosswalks and BLM signs.
Ocean Grove is directly adjacent to Asbury Park, which has been heavily infested with queers since the late 1960s. But back then they kept it to themselves for the most part. Now it’s in your face.
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