A Nativity scene is displayed by the gazebo at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Fairfield. After some controversy, the display will stay in place, after the town added a sign noting it is private, and inviting people of all faiths to add their own display at the town park. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

FAIRFIELD — A Nativity scene at a gazebo in the middle of a town park will stay there after officials placed a sign stating that it is a private display.

Town officials had requested the removal of the religious display, which was placed there by Republican state Rep. Shelley Rudnicki of Fairfield, who said she would file charges of theft if the Nativity scene was moved.

The gazebo was decorated Nov. 30 by a group of residents and some council members, adorning the structure with festive lights, ribbons, garlands, bows and a Christmas tree. Rudnicki said that she and a friend had privately purchased the Nativity scene, featuring Mary, Joseph and a manger with baby Jesus, to go next to the gazebo.

On Dec. 2, Michelle Flewelling, town manager, said she messaged Sara Tulley, a resident who organized the gazebo’s decoration, and requested that the Nativity scene be removed. The message was forwarded by Tulley to Rudnicki.

“It has to do with the fact of the Establishment Clause and the separation of church and state,” Flewelling said. “So when you have a government entity, displaying religious symbols is not something that we do, because we represent everyone in the community, regardless of their religious beliefs.”

Late Tuesday, Flewelling said the town placed a sign next to the gazebo stating that the Nativity scene is a private display, and that any and all faiths should feel welcome to add their own display at the same location. The town attorney advised Flewelling to put up that sign to keep the religious symbol separate from the town.

But before the town came to that solution, Rudnicki said she had reached out to Flewelling with a firm message.

A nativity scene is displayed Tuesday by the gazebo at Veterans Memorial Park in Fairfield. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

“I left a message that I was not taking it down, and I will not be taking it down, because legally, I do not have to,” Rudnicki said. “It’s my First Amendment right to have it there.”

RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS ON TOWN PROPERTY

The gazebo is located in Veteran’s Memorial Park, also known as Monument Park, which is on town property. All reservations to use the space for an event go through the town.

The decoration of the gazebo is an annual tradition around the holidays, and Flewelling said that commercialized holiday symbols — garlands, lights and Christmas trees — are generally accepted by municipalities. Last year, Flewelling said she asked the same organizer not to include religious symbols, and there were no problems.

But this year, the addition of the Nativity scene took the display a step further. A similar situation happened in Bucksport in 2022 when the town council decided to remove the municipally owned plastic baby Jesus to make space for other holidays. The town returned the Nativity scene to Main Street shortly after.

Flewelling said that the reason public religious displays like the Nativity scene aren’t allowed at the gazebo is because the town funds the electricity costs for the lights around the gazebo throughout December, effectively making it a town-sponsored event.

However, adding the sign stating that the display is private clarifies that the display is not municipally owned or funded.

Previously, Rudnicki had threatened legal action if the Nativity scene was removed.

“If (Flewelling) allows someone else to remove it, I will be filing charges on theft, because that’s my property,” Rudnicki said. “I’m donating it to the cause of decorating, but it is my property, and if it gets removed, I have already got a message in to the First Liberty Institute.”

According to its website, the First Liberty Institute is the largest nonprofit in the country dedicated to defending religious liberty for Americans. In 2022, the institute fought to bring the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to defend high school football coach Joe Kennedy, who lost his job after kneeling in private prayer following football games.

Patrice MacArthur and her dog Bode, a Samoyed, pass a Nativity scene displayed by the gazebo at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Fairfield. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

The high court upheld Kennedy’s right to kneel in prayer, and in doing so overturned Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), or the Lemon Test, a test which decided whether a law met the requirements of the Establishment Clause based on if it has a legitimate secular purpose, does not advance or inhibit religion and does not result in excessive entanglement of government and religion.

Legal experts say the Supreme Court decision has muddled the issue of religion in the public sphere.

Rudnicki said that this overturning makes it legal for the Nativity scene to be displayed as part of the town’s decorations at the gazebo. She also said that history plays a role, citing George Washington’s orders requiring military chaplains in every regiment of the army.

“Our foundation in the United States is built on Christianity and the principles of Christianity, and we have removed so much of that from our society — that’s why we have a lot of the issues that we have,” Rudnicki said. “If I can be instrumental in doing the one thing, even just putting a Nativity scene in a public thing, to me, that’s what we need to do. We need to get back to that.”

While Christianity has long been the largest religion in the United States, Thomas Jefferson and some of the Founding Fathers wrote about a separation of church and state with the intention of protecting religious expression from government interference.

Samuel Crankshaw, communications director at ACLU Maine, said that the First Amendment ensures that the nation doesn’t endorse an official religion.

“One of the greatest things about this country is that the government cannot tell people what to believe or to believe in anything at all,” Crankshaw said. “However, religious displays on public property create the impression that the government may be endorsing an official religion. The First Amendment prohibits the government from establishing any religion so all people can practice their faith, or lack thereof, as they choose.”

PUBLIC RESPONSE

The controversy around the Nativity scene’s removal divided town social media groups, with one post in a private community Facebook group racking up around 300 comments. Some were in support of the decision to remove the Nativity, while other residents expressed anger and frustration.

Patrice MacArthur, a retired Waterville resident who often walks her dogs around Veteran’s Memorial Park, said she doesn’t believe in removing the Nativity scene, but rather inviting other religions to join.

“I don’t believe in removing it, just like I wouldn’t want anyone to remove something the Jewish people put up, or the Muslims put up,” MacArthur said. “I wouldn’t want anyone to take those down either, just because I’m Christian. I think we all have a right to celebrate our own religions. To me, it’s not an insult to the Muslims or the Jews. They can celebrate theirs, and I’m happy for them. I think it’s wonderful.”

On Dec. 7, at 4 p.m., the organizers will light up the Christmas tree at the gazebo. In the hour before the tree lighting, there will be a community celebration with hot cocoa, cookies and a meet with Santa Claus.