SANTA MONICA, Calif., -- Faith groups to set up "Live Nativity" in Palisades Park after the City of Santa Monica and a federal judge banned Nativity Displays that had been in the park for 59 consecutive years.
The groups discovered the decision of the city and federal court decision only applied to "unattended" Nativity Displays in Palisades Park. However "attended" displays are permissible.
This is a major victory for religious freedom, the First Amendment and the public display of Nativity Scenes.
Working with Santa Monica city officials, the faith coalition will have a live Nativity Display on Saturday, December 8, between 1:00 and 4:00 P.M. in Palisades Park.
There will be a news conference at 2:00 P.M. to discuss the Palisades Park Nativity Display and the issue of religious freedom.
The location of the news conference will be just south of Santa Monica Blvd. and Ocean Ave.
The Christian community as well of people of good will from all across Southern California are being encouraged to bring their own personal Nativity Scenes that they would display in their homes during the Christmas Season.
The name of the event is "The Birth of Christ. The Birth of Freedom. The Santa Monica Nativity."
This entire campaign is part of "The Nativity Project" which was launched by the Washington, D.C. based Christian Defense Coalition and Faith and Action almost 7 years ago.
This national project encourages the faith community to set up Nativity Displays in public places all across the nation.
This Wednesday the groups had a "Live Nativity Display" in front of the United States Capitol and Supreme Court as they did last year.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states,
"We are so thankful that a Nativity Display will be seen in Palisades Park for a 60th Consecutive year. It is critical that the faith community did not allow the City of Santa Monica and the federal court to crush the First Amendment and religious freedom by banning a Nativity Display in Palisades Park.
"Sadly, we are seeing an erosion of public expressions of faith across America. This is especially true during the Christmas Season. Therefore, it is important for the Christian community to continue to speak out with passion and courage when they see the trampling of free speech rights and religious freedom. Simply stated, the faith community will never 'go silently into the night' when these issues are at risk.
"By finding a way to creatively address this injustice, the powerful message of Christmas and religious freedom will continue to be heard and seen in Palisades Park. We hope people from all across America take inspiration from this victory and stand up for these critical issues."
