Residents of a small Texas town awakened to find that the municipal council had removed their treasured “Jesus Welcomes You” sign in the middle of the night. Instead of taking it lying down, the tenacious church members decided to pay them a visit.
Hawkins, a community in northern Texas, has profound roots in America’s Judeo-Christian origins. The town created a sign that reads “Jesus Welcomes You to Hawkins” as a representation of the community’s ideals, and it has welcomed tourists on Highway 80 since 2015. Despite the sign has caused no problems for numerous years, the municipal council suddenly objected to its appearance and ordered the Jesus Christ Open Altar Church to remove it.
When the church refused, the city made it its goal to demolish the exhibit, requiring the congregation to stand guard over the sign in turns. They never anticipated that the city would employ government officials to slip over in the middle of the night and steal the church’s flag.
According to Hawkins City Secretary Dona Jordan, the city council ignored the community’s fury over the sign’s destruction, saying that it was their property. On the other hand, the congregation is outraged that the city would go to such low depths, arguing that the parcel of the land truly belongs to the church itself.
“We’re planning to build a roadway on our easement,” Jordan explained. “That is our designated street.”
The city ignored their concerns, believing that the church would finally accept their fate. Seeing that its civil servants were no longer serving its constituents, the church has boldly stated that it is pursuing a religious discrimination case against the council, accusing them of perpetrating an anti-Christian hate crime, according to church trustee Mark McDonald.
“City workers damaged our church property, took up our crosses, and destroyed everything,” McDonald explained. He stated the police alerted him of the action. “We’re considering it a hate crime of religious prejudice orchestrated by the city.” “We have enough documentation to back that up,” McDonald added. “Our counsel advised the city (Thursday) not to touch or bother it.” “There have been closed meetings, documents, and many mistakes.”
Although the city has consistently rejected legal counsel to undercut the church’s supposed ownership of the property, they are paying attention now. McDonald believes that the city is being investigated for multiple legal infractions and that voters will confront them in court.
The Christian majority is facing more persecution than ever before. Churches are being forced to violate their biblical principles due to unconstitutional legislation. Small towns and close-knit communities have always proven to be powerful foes of the tyranny of government overreach. On the other hand, some discover that they have no choice but to fight fire with fire.
While residents have no objections to the sign, Chief of Police Manfred Glow claims that it has only lately become a safety threat since cars require “90-degree access to the roadway.” The city claimed it had had an easement on the land since 1909. On the other hand, the church claims that the city abandoned its interest in the land in 1994, nullifying its claim to the title.
The neighborhood will remain split until the city and church square off in court. The proposed turn, which would pass across the land, is being built by the city. Still, the church isn’t going down without a struggle. Only time will tell whether the court will agree with the haughty municipal council or with the outraged congregation.