MELBOURNE, Fla. (ABP) — Calvary Chapel in Melbourne, Fla., won't cover the cross in its sanctuary to quiet critics who say holding four high-school graduation ceremonies in the building violates the Constitution.
“We don't mind having them use the facility, but we won't hide what we are or who we are by hiding the cross,” said Melody Glover, spokesperson for the Central Florida church.
A state judge ruled May 18 that the ceremonies likely violate the constitutional ban on government establishment of religion, but he said the complaint was filed too late for the schools to make other arrangements.
Judge Gregory Presnell of the Middle District of Florida denied a request for a temporary restraining order that would require the church to cover or remove religious symbols from the sanctuary, including a 25-foot cross, or force the school district to move the ceremonies.
“It's clear to me a secular facility without those icons should have been chosen in order to protect the interests of everyone, and to maintain the separation of church and state that has allowed religion in this country to flourish,” Presnell said. But the May 18 hearing was too close to the ceremonies — one May 19, another May 20 and two May 21 — to find an alternate site, the judge said.
The church can seat 3,500 people, including 700 in overflow rooms, which reportedly makes it the largest indoor facility in the county. Even that will not accommodate all the parents and friends who want to come to graduation, however. Several of the schools have held the ceremonies in outdoor stadiums, but Florida's heat and spring thunderstorms make them uncomfortable and unpredictable.
But those aren't good enough reasons to violate the constitution, Presnall said in the hearing.
Church-state specialists say the Melbourne case is in a gray area of the law. Schools have the right to rent space from churches, for instance for overflow classroom space, but the facilities should not have religious symbols that dominate the setting, since that would imply a religious intent.
The cross is reportedly the only Christian symbol in the Calvary Chapel sanctuary, but it is large and centrally located — a cross-shaped opening in the front wall that is back-lit for emphasis.
Brevard (County) Public Schools decided to hand out diplomas on one side of the stage, so the cross is not directly behind the students, and will print a disclaimer in the graduation programs, explaining the ceremony is intended as a secular event. And the church volunteered to turn off the light on the cross.
But is the remaining imagery prominent enough to imply a government endorsement?
“Moving the presentation of diplomas to the side and issuing the disclaimer makes it a constitutionally close question,” said Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. “But I think the better, more sensitive, practice is to hold it in a religiously neutral setting.”
Judge Presnell said the issue is important enough to hold another hearing, which will determine if the facility is appropriate for future ceremonies.
Glover, Calvary's communications manager, said the church rented the sanctuary to three of the four high schools for last year's graduation. “We thought it would be a great service to the community,” she told Associated Baptist Press.
The 2004 ceremonies for Bayside, Eau Gallie and Palm Bay high schools passed without incident, although there was some grumbling from a few families about the use of a church, she said. Melbourne High decided to join them this year.
But one Palm Bay High student, her Buddhist father and another parent who is an atheist sued the school district to try to move the commencement or cover the cross.
The school district asked the church to cover the cross, Glover said, even though “they knew what our answer was going to be.” While the church is glad to make other accommodations, such as turning off the back-light, she said, the cross is central to the congregation's identity.
Glover suggested the schools buy two simple projection lights to cast their own images on the front wall. “Class of 2005” will appear on either side of the cross in all four ceremonies.
The attorney who represented the Palm Bay families, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in the suit, called the judge's decision disappointing but also vindicating. “I think the writing's on the wall that the school board cannot pull this kind of stunt for commencement exercises in the future,” attorney Mark Tietig said.