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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
September 2002 |
Mishawaka church welcomes Ten Commandments
By Lynda C. Ward
Michiana Dist. Communicator
Ever since Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, they have received a less than hospitable reception by some people. Attorney David R. Hoffman, a resident of Mishawaka, is no exception.
Last year, in a law suit filed by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union on Hoffman's behalf, it was stated that the Ten Commandments monument displayed on public property in front of Mishawaka's City Hall violates the First Amendment requirement for the separation of church and state. As a result, the monument has been ordered to be removed.
But that does not mean the 2,500-pound monument, which was donated to the city in 1959 by the Mishawaka chapter of the Eagles, and which has been in its current location since 1986, will be homeless. Instead the monument will be moving down the street to Mishawaka's First UMC where ironically it will be displayed in an even more prominent and frequented location.
"I think it will be something the entire community will enjoy," says the Rev. Lorin Clemenz, the pastor. While Clemenz thinks having the monument at First UMC is a "great idea," he admits he can't take credit for it. "Our former pastor Dan Motto (now Michiana's district superintendent) started it. He wrote to the mayor saying that First UMC would accept the monument if it had to be moved."
Naomi Rea, who is both on the Board of Trustees at Mishawaka First and serves as the mayor's assistant says, "I'm glad we got it." Rea reports the Trustees welcomed the idea. The city was in agreement as well. Clemenz says, "There was a meeting with representatives from the Eagles as well as Democrats, Republicans, Chamber [of Commerce] members, and local clergy. There was a consensus."
Carl Kay Memorials of South Bend has volunteered to move the monument. According to Rea, other volunteers include Sign Crafters of Osceola, who will pour the foundation; Troyer, a Mishawaka architectural firm, which will donate the landscaping; and Trans Tech Electric, which will donate lighting. The move is scheduled for the end of October.
Last updated on 01/14/2004