Church Denied Baptism Ceremony Request in Public Park

[struggle4progress]

Written by Don Byrd
Monday, 15 August 2011

Via Religion Clause, The Reality Church of Olympia lost in its effort to include a baptism ceremony in a picnic event to be held in a public park. On the grounds that Washington's State Constitution prohibits the use of public resources for worship service, the state refused the permit request ...

http://www.bjconline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4577&Itemid=134

[TlalocW]

1. Why don't they just throw a cooler of Gatorade

Over the people being Baptized? Instant soul redemption and replacement of important electrolytes.

TlalocW

[MineralMan]

2. They should have shown them this video

from O! Brother, Where Art Thou:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXcuqdgOgz8

[dmallind]

3. not familiar with this group but as long as all religions treated equally it's ok. nt

[cleanhippie]

4. "Washington's State Constitution prohibits the use of public resources for worship service"

Pretty clear cut.

[laconicsax]

5. I guess this makes Washington a bigoted hate group now.

:rofl:

[struggle4progress]

6. I haven't seen the original application, denial, or appeal -- only the denial of the appeal:

<pdf via The Olympian:> http://media.theolympian.com/smedia/2011/08/12/21/17/1c44ko.So.38.pdf

First, more details:

... The state Department of General Administration has refused to give a permit to an Olympia church that wants to hold a baptism today along with its barbecue and picnic at Heritage Park on the Capitol Campus ... The church held picnics two previous years in Heritage Park without incident, and its permit this year lets it move forward with another picnic-barbecue at noon today ... The American Center for Law & Justice is a right-of-center group that has won battles over allowing Bible clubs to meet on a school campus and other separation-of-church-and-state issues ...
POSTED: Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011
Olympia church's plan for baptism near Capitol nixed
HERITAGE PARK: Church denied permit based on state constitution
BRAD SHANNON
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/08/13/2141468/state-rejects-olympia-churchs.html

<church response:> ... due to the state’s denial of our permit to use Heritage Park for the baptism, we will be moving our baptism down the street to the YMCA pool. The baptism will happen first, immediately after the service at 12 noon, followed by a family BBQ back at the Carnegie Building ... http://realityolympia.com/2011/08/12/baptism-and-bbq-update/

<view of Heritage Park and adjacent Capitol Lake:> http://www.ga.wa.gov/visitor/Parks/HP.htm
<click image for larger view>

The natural reading is that the church practices immersion baptism. However, there is no swimming at the park although there is a wading/splashing fountain:

... The identification and purchase of a public swimming beach has been a priority for Olympia since the Capitol Lake Park swimming beach was closed in 1985. This closure resulted from water quality issues that could not be managed within State Health Code standards ... http://olympiawa.gov/en/community/parks/parks-and-trails/ward-lake-parcel.aspx

Heritage Park Fountain
http://olympiawa.gov/en/community/parks/parks-and-trails/heritage-park-fountain.aspx

The bottom line is that the administrators should never have let themselves be baited into a religious-freedoms squabble here. What the church wanted to do was to climb into Lake Capitol for some immersions. Here, the administrators should have had the ready answer: "We don't let people get into Lake Capitol. For public health and safety reasons, public swimming hasn't been permitted there for twenty-five years. People who want to cool down can splash a bit in the fountain, but we don't let private groups reserve the fountain or commandeer it for nonpublic purposes"

If the church folk wanted to stand around in a circle at their picnic and sing a hymn while the pastor dumped a cup of water on somebody, the administrators would have looked ridiculous if they said "Oh, you can have a picnic but you can't do that at your picnic." There's no clear public policy interest in such a stand

What's going on here is simple: the rightwing strategists have engaged in their usual huff-n-puff, to reframe the fact, that the park administrators won't let them climb down into Lake Capitol, into a religious freedom fight -- and the park administrators seem to be playing right into the game. It's stupid: it shouldn't be a constitutional issue




"We, the people of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this constitution ...
Section 11. Religious Freedom. Absolute freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief and worship, shall be guaranteed to every individual, and no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of religion; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state. No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or the support of any religious establishment ..." http://www.leg.wa.gov/LAWSANDAGENCYRULES/Pages/constitution.aspx

[saras]

7. Churches in WA have religious events in public parks all the time

You can't expect the public to pay for it, but you can use, and reserve, any public park space exactly the same way as any other group does, for the same minimal fees, and the restrictions on what you can do are the same as for anyone else. I've attended more of them than I could count.

The authorities are in fact getting suckered by right-wing media management.

And because the article is from a 'religious liberty' publication, it's not exactly journalistic quality.

[struggle4progress]

8. +