The non-fishing pier in OG. By Jean Bredin. 2021 Blogfinger.net staff. ©
Paul Goldfinger, Editor. Blogfinger.net
It seems like this particular news topic has run its course, but at nj.com, they continue to beat the drum. They interview a couple of CMA officials and a few Grovers in today’s article.
In the nj.com article, two Grovers have been fussing over this issue, trying to link this pier plan as “Christian bullying” or “Christian Nationalism.” There is talk of asking “state and local officials to intervene.”
And then there is the implication that Piergate has something to do with gay rights in the Grove.
Here is a link if you want to read the nj.com piece today 8/28/22. The quotes below are from that online article.
Blogfinger would like to see the future pier have a more neutral design, but we are more interested in the over-riding concern that the CMA is over-expanding in our small town as it strives to make OG into a “Christian seaside resort” with programs all year long.
The CMA ‘s recent aggressive efforts may affect the lifestyles and perhaps the rights of most OG residents who are not interested in the CMA’s religious programs.
In that regard, OG resident Shane Martins is quoted today in the nj.com piece as saying, “For too long, Badger and Jackson’s decisions affecting our community have gone unchecked. It is time for our leaders, who are actually elected, to get involved to ensure that the protections afforded to us under the 1st Amendment to the U.S Constitution are not violated.”
Blogfinger finds that remark to be on target as far as how the CMA is behaving in the Grove towards our majority resident community. Are there Constitutional issues, and what are they?
One OG resident named Charlotte Pritchard decided that she could speak for the rest of us saying, as quoted in the nj.com article, “I believe most of (us) here, religious or not, are just profoundly happy that the pier which many of us visit daily will soon be made better than before.”
Maybe the Home Groaners should start speaking for the rest of us:
RAY BOLGER FROM THE WIZARD OF OZ:
I was once asked to find the origin of “God’s Square Mile.” The earliest newspaper reference to it found was this:
“Dr. M. E. Snyder, superintendent of the Ocean grove Association, welcomed the members to Ocean Grove. He called this place ‘God’s Square Mile,’ particularly suited for the meeting of Christian workers.” Ocean Grove Times, 6 June 1930
It is possible that the Association used the term earlier in its publications, but I did not have access to them.