A Thanksgiving Message

By 

Jay Sekulow

|
June 25, 2011

3 min read

American Heritage

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As Thanksgiving holidays are upon us, at the American Center for Law & Justice, we have much to be thankful for.  Next week, we will be standing before the Supreme Court of the United States, once again defending the rights of pro-life citizens to speak out against the issue of abortion.  During the same day, arguments will be held in the Planned Parenthood parental notification case.  Both of these cases are significant.  I am thankful that God has allowed us to live in a country where the rule of law prevails and freedom is a hallmark of our constitutional republic.  Please continue to remember our troops that are in harms way as they defend all of our freedoms.  Also, remember the President and his advisors as they make the difficult decisions in the days ahead. 

 

I wanted to share with you a Christmas story.  We received a letter from Craig Rogers of Ada, Oklahoma, who was concerned because city officials had denied a nativity scene.  Heres his story:

 

RE:  PRAISE REPORT NATIVITY SCENE IN OUR PARK THANKS TO YOU!

 

Dear Everyone at the ACLJ:

 

            I just want to report that by presenting your six-page education letter entitled Equal Access for Holiday Celebrations to the Christmas Light Committee, a Nativity scene is being built by the city of Ada, Oklahoma, for the Christmas light display.

 

            Without getting too dramatic, this is the story:  Moving from California, I was surprised that there was no Nativity scene in the city parks Christmas light display.  About six weeks ago, I approached the mayor, who seemed cordial and supportive about a Nativity scene.  She told me there were problems a while back and to talk to the city attorney.  The city attorney told me to talk to the park manager.  He told me that it wasnt going to happen, but I could come to the Christmas Light Committee.  During this time, I called the ACLJ and was told to download information from the website.  I appeared before the Christmas Light Committee with ten copies of the ACLJ letter.  Another gentleman, who had the same desire, came with a list of Nativity scenes and surrounding cities. 

 

            The first ten minutes of our talk fell on deaf ears.  Their body language and expressions told us that they werent interested in what we had to say.  This was just a formality to pacify us. 

 

            Well, I passed out the letter and directed them to turn to page 6 where the Supreme Court said it was okay for a Nativity scene to be placed with other secular displays.  Their heads actually nodded.  Two days later, the park manager informed me that the city was building a nativity scene.  A councilman confirmed this after he spoke to the city attorney.

 

            I want to give a big thanks to the ACLJ and also encourage everyone to confront his or her city council.  The longer you wait, the longer the perception that a nativity scene is illegal will persist. 

 

                                                            Craig Rogers

 

This is just one of the dozens of examples of Christmas cases that we are getting quickly resolved at the ACLJ.  For information about Christmas displays, please click here.