EDITORIAL:Judge presecribes common-sense window dressing

Complaint received of religious overtones of stained-glass window.

By:
   We commend the recent directive issued by state Superior Court Assignment Judge John Sweeney to cover an old, stained-glass church window during court sessions at the Mansfield Township Municipal Complex.
   The window has been displayed in the complex’s courtroom for the past year. Judge Sweeney said his office received a complaint of the window’s religious overtones.
   The 9-by-3-foot window contains a quote from Psalms 127:2, which says "He giveth his beloved sleep."
   We agree with the judge’s succinct, simple statement: "If the window did not have a phrase, I would have let it go. But the saying is of a religious nature. People should not be confronted by that if they do not choose to be."
   It is best to cover the window, for as Judge Sweeney said, the lines between church and state were blurring.
   We should to point out that this is not an attack on anyone who follows a Bible-based religion. If the window had a phrase such as "Buddha, the Light of the world," we would expect it to be covered as well.
   Not everyone believes in God. Not everyone believes in the Bible. While this saying may not bother some people, it bothers others.
   And those people have every right to be bothered by it because the setting for the phrase is inappropriate.
   The members of the township’s Special Events Committee who found and restored the window weren’t trying to shove religion down anyone’s throat. They simply found an historical, beautiful artifact for the township and they should be commended for their unique find.
   The window was locked away in a second-floor room of the municipal complex. It was part of the First Presbyterian Church of Columbus which was demolished in 1981 after it was long abandoned. The church was located on property the complex is built on.
   As committee chairperson Marion Reeves said, "We put it in the town hall as part of the history of the town, not as a religious symbol. We thought the people of the community would like it."
   We think many people definitely do. And covering the window during court sessions is a simple solution to the problem. It takes religion out of a non-religious event a few hours out of one day of the week.
   Then, when court is not in session, the window’s beauty is there for all to see.
   And if you receive inspiration from the phrase, that’s an added bonus.