His banner over me is... illegal!?

In Song of Solomon we are told, "his banner over me is love." SS 2:4. But better not try to raise that banner in Elgin. St. Paul's United Church of Christ and First Congregational Church both placed banners outside their churches. The banners have been there since December but one week after another local church challenged the city's actions by threatening a federal lawsuit for refusing to allow them to meet in a storefront area, both churches were served with notices of local zoning violations. This recent event highlights two areas of growing conflict for churches.

Religious Speech-Free Zones. Historically the church was seen as a positive influence in a community. Both the United Church of Christ and First Congregational Church have been in Elgin for over a hundred years. As Pastor Paris Donehoo said: "We feel it pulls the rug out from under what we're trying to do in this community. We've been trying to be helpful, and this just feels like a slap in the face to us."

Historically, in an effort to preserve the positive impact a church has in a community laws were passed preventing having a firearm within a certain number of feet of a church or selling alcohol or conducting certain other types of businesses. However, more and more the church is being told to stay within its own walls.

Elgin's ordinance like many municipalities ordinances prohibits the posting of temporary advertising signs without a permit. These regulations are permissible because they regulate commercial speech. The United States Supreme Court has long recognized a distinction between commercial speech which is used to make a profit and non-commercial speech. It would certainly be a stretch on the part of the city to say these churches are trying to "sell" Jesus.

Someone probably clued the city into this because the community development director said they would consider re-classifying the banners as "non-commercial opinion signs" which do not require a permit but do have size limitations. That would still be a burden on the United Church of Christ which receives its signs from headquarters in Ohio. Twenty five churches in Illinios and others around the country are all displaying the exact same banner without incident. But not in Elgin.

A few years ago Oak Park could not hold a community day of prayer because of the content of the message using name of Jesus. In New York churches were not being allowed to meet on school property because of the religious content of the messages being given. And back in Elgin, two other churches - Mision Apostolica and Our Redeemer Free Methodist - were given citations because the religious music being played was too loud. The result in all these instances is that the First Amendment which was designed to protect religious free expression above all expression is being afforded less protection than traditional speech.

Church - Free Zones. The other problem facing many churches is that they are being effectively zoned out of communities. Again instead of being seen as a positive stabilizing influence churches are seen as a drain on tax revenues. Even when they aren't eroding the tax base, cities often do not want churches locating near other businesses. In Elgin both All Nations Worship Center and Iglesia Apostolica Vida Nueva, were cited by the city for conducting worship without obtaining approval. One of the churches was actually located in the only zoning area that permits churches but the building was a house and even though plenty large enough for the small group assembling there the city did not want them to meet. The other church went before the city council and even though in an area with ample parking they were turned down. The zoning area allows membership organizations to meet and so the United Way two doors down is permitted by the city but a church is not. Sometimes the United Way's meetings are larger than the church attendance but the church was not allowed to meet until a Chicago attorney prepared a federal lawsuit. The suit did not need to be filed because the city realized it was not going to win and backed down.

Unfortunately churches are all too often not welcomed in communities. This makes the mission of the church more relevant and vital than ever before! We need to demonstrate our concern for our communities. We need to demonstrate the reason our faith is important and makes a difference. We need to be relevant Christians in a relativist society. Rather than shrink back within the comfort of our four walls, more than ever before we should heed the words of the prophet Jeremiah and "Lift up a banner in the land!" Jer. 51:27.