Secular group unites defiant Kentucky town in cross dispute

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is twisting the arms of city officials in Wilmore, Ky., in an attempt to force them to tear down a cross in the middle of town.

The cross stands atop a city water tower in the heart of a Christian university campus. A 40-year-old agreement keeps the cross on the tower, built by Asbury University and transferred to the city in 1968. The effort to bring it down is stirring the community of 6,000 people, with the mayor and citizens banding together to support the cross in the face of a secular onslaught.

“There’s nothing that’s drawn our town together more than the possibility of losing this cross,” said Mayor Harold Rainwater. “I one hundred percent support keeping it there. We won’t take it down unless we’re forced to take it down.”

Although the city owns the water tower, Asbury pays the electric bill to light the cross at night.

In a letter to Rainwater, the Freedom From Religion Foundation claims the cross is offensive and exclusive.

“The Wilmore cross, displayed on the city water tower, unabashedly creates the perception of government endorsement of Christianity,” wrote the group’s staff attorney, Rebecca Markert. “We are aware that the water tower itself stands on the campus of Asbury University, a private Christian college, but this is irrelevant.”

The foundation has sent one letter so far but claims legal precedent likely will force the city to remove the cross. Residents aren’t buying it.

“If the Muslims put up something, or any other organization, that’s their right too, but they need to let us have our rights,” Sheila Nighy, a Wilmore resident, told reporters. Nighy is creating crosses for neighbors to post in their yards in protest. “We saw the letter and I said, ‘Take down our cross? We’ll put up more!’” Nighy is making nearly 400 crosses for a rally on Saturday to support the water tower cross.

Wilmore isn’t the first town to face a fight with the Wisconsin-based foundation over a cross on public property. In 2013, the foundation challenged a cross on a water tower in Whiteville, Tenn. Letters turned into legal briefs after mayor James Bellar posted crosses in front of city hall in defiant opposition to the organization. The city eventually settled the court case, removing an arm of the water tower cross and using insurance money to pay the foundation’s $20,000 in legal fees. Residents reacted by posting crosses in their yards and around the city.

“Our country was built on that cross,” said Tim Lewis, a Whiteville business owner who vowed to put crosses on his business in response.

For now, the Wilmore cross continues to light the Kentucky sky surrounding Asbury’s campus. Rainwater is not sure where the letter he received will lead, noting the settlement Whiteville was forced to make. But he’s not backing down yet, vowing to maintain the 40-year-old agreement with Asbury University, where he is an associate professor.

“In nearly 40 years, no one has ever complained about this cross except this group from Madison,” Rainwater said. “It means a lot to us. It’s important to our town.”