Florida Cross Allowed to Stand

Earlier this week, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed itself and decided that the 34-foot cross at Bayview Park in Pensacola, Florida does not have to come down. The cross had been donated in 1949 by the Pensacola Junior Chamber of Commerce to honor one of its past presidents.

The lawsuit was brought by four atheists and made it to the U.S. Supreme Court which returned the case to the lower court for a second look. Upon review, the federal appeals court decided the cross did not violate the establishment clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Last summer we reported on the case American Legion v. American Humanist Association in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a 40-foot memorial cross in Bladensburg, Maryland. Known as the Bladensburg Peace Cross, this monument was erected in 1925 to honor 49 local men who died in WWI.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Stephen Breyer, Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagen, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas ruled that it is permissible for a monument in the shape of a Christian cross to be on public land. Alito argued for presuming that “longstanding monuments, symbols, and practices” are constitutional.

This latest decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is perhaps a positive movement towards less hostility from the courts toward religious expression in the public square.

Students Granted Right to Exercise Their First Amendment Rights

Four Wheaton College students were banned from evangelizing in Chicago’s Millennium Park. They are members of the Chicago Evangelism Team sponsored by the Wheaton College Office of Christian Outreach. This group meets on Friday nights to proclaim the Gospel “in the city of Chicago to whomever we find there.”

Last September, the students filed a lawsuit, arguing that the city government’s ban limited their ability to engage in “protected activity.” Federal Judge John Robert Blakey granted a temporary injunction and ruled that the students must be allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights until the legal dispute is resolved.

Pray for these students as this case moves forward. We are thankful that, for now, they can boldly proclaim the Gospel in Millennium Park. Pray their efforts will not be in vain.