See, tolerance is a one way street. How dare the Methodist church do this!
Jersey Shore Christians Accused of ‘Bullying’ LGBTQ+ for Building Cross-Shaped Ocean Pier
A community along the Jersey Shore established as a Methodist retreat in 1869 is building a pier out of its boardwalk shaped like a cross, prompting outrage from the neighboring LGBTQ+ enclave, NJ Advance Media reported Monday.
Ocean Grove, New Jersey, broke ground on a project to restore a pier jutting out of the boardwalk in July that will feature a design that resembles a cross from above. The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, the Methodist organization that founded the community and still owns most of the land, has said that the design is an “improvement” that will allow more people to enjoy being out over the water, compared to the pier that it will replace. The project is part of larger restorations still ongoing since Superstorm Sandy devastated much of the Jersey Shore in 2012.
Ocean Grove is located next to Asbury Park, New Jersey. Beachgoers can walk the boardwalk out of one town into the other.
Wait, what’s that, they own the land, including the beach (some areas in NJ have the beach owned by government, some the homeowners own the beach)? Huh. If the OGCMA wants to build it in the shape of a cross, which does give more area out at the end, then they can, and it’s no one else’s business. But, this is 2022, so, let’s go to that link above from “reported”
Members of the small seaside town’s LGTBQ+ community and allies are saying the cross crosses a line, but many are afraid to voice their grievances with the Camp Meeting Association, said Douglas Grote, a local resident and retired Presbyterian pastor.
The cross-shaped pier feels like “Christian bullying,” said Grote, who has penned letters to local and state officials asking for intervention.
“I am so deeply concerned,” he said. ”And I am so concerned from my neighbors who are scared and bullied.”
And? If they feel that way, that’s on them. It’s just a pier with a small cross shape. These people are so soft. Bullied? Pfft. If they don’t like it they can leave the area. They knew it was a very religious area when they moved there
Ocean Grove, referred to as God’s Square Mile by some of its residents, is a seaside community of roughly 3,000 residents located just south of Asbury Park. It’s technically not its own town — Ocean Grove is a small section of Neptune Township, set aside with a unique charter.
It was founded more than 150 years ago as a summertime, tent-revival religious retreat. It was governed by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist ministry, as a religious enclave for 100 years until the New Jersey Supreme Court declared its charter unconstitutional after a series of lawsuits.
And the ministry still owns most of the land. Are none of the LGBT folks religious?
Since the pier project did not have to go through local officials for approval, many residents were surprised by the new cross-shaped pier design, said Shane Martins, an attorney who sits on the Neptune Zoning Board and lives in Ocean Grove.
Martins, who is gay, said even if he’s not personally offended by the design, “it’s not just about me, there’s other people being hurt.”
“Once this pier is built like a cross, I believe that will be the point of a no return,” Martins said. “To say that (cross-shaped pier) doesn’t represent Christian nationalism — anyone who says that isn’t being honest.”
Seems like that community is being intolerant. And, of course, has to take it further with “Christian nationalism”. It’s a pier. That is it. There are plenty of cross all over the area. You can be Offended all you want. Suck it up, buttercup.
Read: LGBT’s Accuse Church Of Bullying For Building Cross Shaped Ocean Pier »