Dear Friend,
According to Oklahoma City television station KOCO, the Federal Reserve has ordered a small-town bank in Oklahoma to remove religious signs and symbols on display.
Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of regulations. The examiners came to Payne County Bank last week.
And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller's counter and buttons that say "Merry Christmas, God With Us" were inappropriate. The Bible verse of the day on the bank's Internet site also had to be taken down, along with Thomas Kinkade paintings hanging in the bank's lobby.
The bank is quietly fighting for a clearer interpretation of the clause. Officials have contacted their two U.S. legislators, Rep. Frank Lucas and Sen. Jim Inhofe, and the Oklahoma Bankers Association to help.
