"Christian Bullying": Residents in Heated Debate Over Cross-Shaped Pier
A little town called Ocean Grove in New Jersey has been given the nickname, “God’s square mile.” The New Jersey Shore town was originally established over 150 years ago by a Methodist group called, “The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.”
In fact, they still own the small beach, boardwalk, and all the land on which the town and businesses presently sit. Anyone who buys a home in Ocean Grove must sign a land-lease agreement with the camp. As of 2022, its population was noted as 3,001.
Ocean Grove has also been touted as a lovely and desirable place for a relaxing weekend getaway. It still has 100 tents set up as reminiscent of the old camp meeting days, and many enjoyable amenities.
Today, it rents the tents out, but the waiting list can be as long as 20 years.
Back in 2012, the town’s beach pier was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, and is now in the process of being rebuilt. The money to rebuild it did not come from any government funding.
The money is coming from private funds that have basically been raised by the association, which took a decade to accomplish.
Nevertheless, a few people have taken issue with the fact that the new pier has the appearance of a cross, which they attribute to Christian symbolism and nationalism.
One retired local in the small town, Presbyterian Pastor Douglas Grote, was especially agitated by the pier’s cross-like appearance and referred to it as, “Christian bullying.”
He has lobbied state and local officials on behalf of the LGBTQ community to try to put a stop to the rebuilding.
“I fear that my faith’s lovely cross may soon become as toxic as a Trojan horse for Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, and all of New Jersey,” Grote told NJ.com.
Camp Meeting Association President Michael Badger has indicated that the CMA had a three-year public comment period regarding the design of the pier, and also made the plans available to view on-line. But during that time, no complaints were issued.
“Look, I think some people think we set out to design a pier that looks like a cross. That was not the case,” Badger told Patch.com on Tuesday. “We did not start out to create a cross-shaped pier to make a statement.”
“What we wanted to do was expand access to the water, expand viewing points to look at the Atlantic Ocean and give more fishing spots than the old pier had,” Badger said.
“But as we went along, we realized it looked like a cross and that seemed pretty cool to us. We recognize the shape and we are very excited to present it to the community. We do celebrate our faith.”
Construction for the cross-shaped pier is still scheduled to begin on September 12, 2022.
