As regular attendees at council meetings, we go because of our interest in town issues and possible resolutions. The last several meetings have been filled with preachings from religious leaders, one of whom is not even from our community. That, combined with the ongoing onslaught by some HEAT committee members, makes for very unpleasant meetings, which results in delays of town business.
If we want to be preached to, we will attend church, or watch a preacher on TV, as will others. We resent having a petition shoved at us at the ALF event, decorated with colored Christmas tree lights, giving the impression this was for the traditional tree lightning. Unlike many, I fully read the words, saw it was an attempt to get names to support religious symbols on town hall property, so I refused to sign. HEAT had a booth for any who wished to do so and it was inappropriate for them to have others seek out signers who came for a fun-day.
The same applies to them being stationed near voting places with petitions on Election Day. Why such desperation to force beliefs upon others? HEAT exists to find ways to attract businesses and tourists to town, not for religious reasons. In my 50 years living here, I have never seen or heard anything like this before. It is dividing our town along religious lines, which is beyond awful!
I have had friends of all faiths from my school, college days and now, so I know how they celebrate their holidays. None of my Jewish friends ever had outside Hanukkah decorations; that was kept private in their homes with traditional prayers and still is to this day. Christmas trees are not religious symbols and Christians do not worship the tree. Nativity scenes are religious, as are symbols of all religions, but all should be displayed at their own places of worship, not town-owned land. Allowing this would lead to a revolving door of displays all year, as these holidays are not all at the same time. It would look like a circus and make a mockery of our town and all the religions as well. We would also have to allow for displays of non-believers.
Religious beliefs or non-beliefs are very personal and no church, religious leader or any other group has the right to try to force a town to display their religious icons, or force anyone to embrace their ideas.
Town hall property has a Veteran's Park to honor our war heroes and the 9-11 Memorial to honor those lost on that awful day. It is very inappropriate to display any religious symbols anywhere on this site.
It is time to move on and have council meetings deal with town problems and solutions and leave us all to our own religions, if we so choose. Keep religion our of town meetings. It has no place there in any way at all!
Eleanor Monahan
West Milford