They gathered together last night on the steps of City Hall--young, old, middle-class, poor, black, white--all praying together for love not hate.
Pastor Mike Olive of the Common Ground Church led the way. A handful of pastors from other churches were present and we all prayed together for Christian churches to walk in unity. They prayed to give thanks for our city, for the people of Lake Worth, our Mayor, city commission, and city manager that they "live with the light on." The city, always on top of free speech, worried about our safety and even sent a deputy sheriff.
People gathered in small groups and those present prayed that Jesus would be lifted up in the City of Lake Worth...love not hate was the message and they prayed that the Common Ground Church will find a place to meet for church services as Easter is quickly approaching. As you recall, the city shut them down for lack of a license. The meeting ended with The Lord's Prayer.
18 comments:
You mean to tell me that the city sent a PBSO deputy to make sure of your safety? You are kidding, right? Thsi is more overtime we are paying to PBSO.
Isn't this just about the church having to file for their usage license at their location? Are churches exempt from licensing requirements?
Ryan Maier stated he does not support a long standing tradition at our city commission meetings to have a prayer open the meeting before the pledge of allegiance. He's ok with chickens in our city, but not prayer?
andy just wants to feel needed and useful---he failed
Lynn, that's a crazy thing that the Pbso had to protect you! Shame on them!
@2:22. He is a bee keeper. He does not have chickens nor have I ever heard that he supports chickens. It was Michael Bornstein who first suggested doing away with the invocation and just having a silent prayer. Is it ok for Bornstein but not Maier? Is that what you're saying?
Personally I believe the invocation should remain and all religions should be allowed to give one--atheists included.
Religion has no place at city meetings, prayers and invocations just divide people and coerce people into praying so they can get a roofing permit.
Didn't you just post s piece on Serge Jerome Jr maybe last week where you stated that you are generally suspicious of organized religion? Now you are out praying with them. So convenient when you want to slant a situation to suit your angle. But very transparent.
why doesn't common ground church get a license? wouldn't that resolve things? If the church had a license then it can continue its services.
I rarely attend church as I feel people can be religious without the formalization of it. But I do believe in the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech--in other words the US Constitution. I was there supporting that. Thanks for your snarky remark.
This is from the letter the city send the church;
“The application form is simple to complete as your organization has completed one prior for the coffee bar,” the letter reads. “We also can schedule the required inspection at your earliest convenience and apprise you of any improvements that may be required of the space or limitation on the number of occupants allowed.”
“Please be assured that the City has the best interests of the public in mind and wants to ensure there are no life safety issues with regard to the operations,” the letter adds.
Dang, they are ruthlessly waging war on this church, forcing them to close down!
Give me a break people!
thank you, 8:16--
The Common Ground church borrows space from the Common Grounds coffee house at 12 S J St in Lake Worth for a few hours a week.
The State of Florida does not require the licesensing of religious organizations. The City of Lake Worth code exempts religious organizations inSection 14 of the city’s municode. And since the Common Grounds coffee house does have an active business license with the city, many are wondering what the problem is. Section 14-2 of the city municode states “Exempt from this definition are the customary religious, charitable or educational activities of nonprofit religious, nonprofit charitable and nonprofit educational institutions…”
That is the argument. They already have a license for the coffee shop who loans space to the church service that lasts no more than 1/2 hour when I was there. It is the same premise as Brouges renting or loaning out its backroom space to a NA or the Dem Club when it used to be there.
What is the allowable occupancy of the coffee shop? Did the Church exceed that? What is the occupancy of Brogues does the Dem Club or NA's exceed that permitted occupancy? Really this is simple safety, fire and bldg codes. It doesn't matter of you're a church or an NA meeting.
Don't worry about it too much--the city is backing off.
The last thing I want is the City to "back off" because it is a church! Meet the code requirements or don't hold a service there!
CALM DOWN
(Ord. No. 2014-06, § 2, 1-7-14) Sec. 14-2. - Definitions.
" Business, profession or occupation means a person engaged in or managing any commercial, industrial, or professional activities. Activities include, but are not limited to, the making, buying, or selling goods or providing services, renting/leasing property for any purpose in exchange for compensation or for profit or non-profit purposes. Exempt from this definition are the customary religious, charitable or educational activities of nonprofit religious, nonprofit charitable and nonprofit educational institutions..."
All calm here but that definition doesn't count for Use & Occupancy Certificates. The City would being doing a disservice to all of its citizens if they did not regulate the occupancy of a building. To think otherwise is in my opinion is C R A Z Y. Talk about exposing the City to liability! So if I am a church I can cram as many people in as I want because what God says so?? GOD says get real! LOL Fill out the form and pray!
Selective tolerance: If this were about a regular weekly gathering of musicians, artists, surfers, public servants, teachers, and you name it this would not be happening. The worst part of this selective tolerance is that if this were about a weekly gathering of Muslims the city officials would have been to scared to even attend much less say a word. #decliningAmericanfreedoms
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