In response to the removal of the Christmas Creche' from Boca Raton's downtown public library, the following press statement has been released:

Church of All Nations

PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT:             Martin Camacho, Media Department (561) 329-7896

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM BOCA RATON OFFICIALS:

“JESUS BELONGS IN THE LOST AND FOUND”

December 18, 2009 (Boca Raton, Florida) One day after Pastor Mark D. Boykin and over 50 local residents donated a crèche at the Boca Raton Downtown Library and placed it next to their Christmas tree, it now rests in the lost and found.

“This is the kind of message from City Officials at Boca Raton during the holidays; to them Jesus belongs in the lost and found,” said Pastor Mark D. Boykin.   “Like a lost wallet, a cell phone, or an old purse, City Officials took the crèche we gave them and cast it aside,” added Pastor Boykin.  

“How ironic that over 2000 years ago, Mary and Joseph could not find a place in the inn. Now baby Jesus has no place in the City of Boca Raton facilities. Our Savior has been denied access,” continued Pastor Boykin.

Senior Pastor Mark D. Boykin will deliver a press statement calling on the Christian community to join him as he will replace the crèche in the City of Boca Raton’s Downtown Public Library.

PRESS STATEMENT

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20^TH

11:30 AM

CHURCH OF ALL NATIONS

1300 N.W. 4^TH AVENUE

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA 33432

Senior Pastor Mark D. Boykin will go to the Downtown Public Library on Tuesday, December 22 at 12:30 PM and will deliver another crèche.

Church group delivers crèche to Boca Raton, Florida
By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent

The city of Boca Raton, Florida doesn't accept donated holiday decorations, but the policy was not going to deter the Rev. Mark D. Boykin.

A crèche — a nativity scene depicting Jesus Christ’ birth — is the Christian symbol of Christmas, Boykin said, and has a rightful place alongside the Hanukkah menorah that sits atop a table in the city library. There's a Christmas tree nearby, but, Boykin says, that's a secular symbol that doesn't impart the true meaning of the holiday.

So he and about 50 members of the Church of All Nations from Boca Raton, Florida ,  arrived at the library Thursday afternoon with crèche in hand. For nearly an hour they sang hymns, recited prayers and waved signs calling for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Just before 1, they filed inside the library to make their presentation. Library Services Manager Catherine A. O'Connell was expecting them. "We're trying to be non-controversial and enjoy the season without being partial to any religious organization," O'Connell explained before the group came inside. "The menorah is a secular symbol as is the Christmas tree and garland."

Officials in the city manager's and city attorney's offices could not be reached for comment, despite attempts by phone. Encircling O'Connell, Boykin and his followers — accompanied by their own camera crew, which was streaming live to the web — asked her for permission to place the crèche by the Christmas tree. She explained city policy about donated holiday decorations, then watched as Boykin walked over and gently placed the manger scene beneath the tree anyway. He blessed it and thanked O'Connell for her understanding.

Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions deal with holiday decorations on public property but neither specifically addresses a crèche alongside a menorah and a Christmas tree, according to David Barkey, southern area counsel for the Anti-Defamation League.

"The Supreme Court says the menorah has religious and secular meaning," Barkey said. "Next to a Christmas tree the overall message is secular and OK. It's never addressed a menorah next to a crèche, or a menorah, a crèche and a Christmas tree. It's called the December dilemma and every year the same issue comes up." Boykin, who believes the menorah is a Jewish religious symbol, wants the city to purchase crèches just as it has menorahs.

"In 1984, the Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of a government-erected crèche. Significantly, the Lynch Court upheld the constitutionality of the holiday display in that case because the crèche was a part of a larger holiday display in which there were a variety of secular symbols,” Said Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel for the American Center For Law and Justice, “Courts generally examine several aspects of a display to determine whether a government- sponsored display violates the Constitution.  So long as the religious elements of the display are part of a larger holiday expression—with Christmas trees, Santa Claus, or the like—such that the primary effect of the entire display is secular, the display is constitutional,” ended Sekulow.

"This is not about the shades of candy canes or the height of a Christmas tree. It's about eight city-owned facilities where menorahs are present," Boykin argued. "They believe because they have a Christmas tree it should placate all Christians. (The city) is discriminating against Christians."

As Boykin and his followers left the library O'Connell wished the group happy holidays.

"Merry Christmas," Boykin replied. What will happen to the donated crèche is anybody's guess. "We're don't have responsibility for it," O'Connell said.

click here for latest Sun Sentinel video and COAN Creche article!

I am both humbled and overjoyed at today’s success in downtown Boca Raton. To be allowed to put a Christmas Crèche' (Nativity Scene) in the Boca Raton public library, following an intense battle with city officials was the result of God's grace and the prayers of His people.

Gathering outside the library with a crowd of close to 65 people was an amazing sight. To see God's hand in action and the faith of His people was truly inspiring. To finally walk away from a situation such as this with victory in hand is truly a testament to the faithfulness of the God we serve.
 
I would like to thank all those who participated and stood for their beliefs in the face of adversity. It was awesome to see this effort after so many years in ministry. I would also like to thank the city of Boca Raton for their assistance in allowing us to express our first amendment rights in this matter.

I would like to thank all those who participated and stood for their beliefs in the face of adversity. It was awesome to see this effort after so many years in ministry. I would also like to thank the city of Boca Raton for their assistance in allowing us to express our first amendment rights in this matter.

 We are gathered here today to test the legitimacy we have been promised in the Constitution of the United States, and to see if indeed a city municipality has the sole right to usurp the free exercise of our religious expression. To borrow words from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: …
 

 
”Now we are engaged in a great civil ‘discourse’ testing whether that nation so conceived can long endure.” And to add to that notion that this city, or any other for that matter, cannot long endure while half of its citizens enjoy the full measure of liberty while the other is deprived of that most previous right – The right of “Freedom of Religion”!
 
Our constitution is a promissory note that guarantees the religious freedom of all its constituents.  Furthermore, this city can never achieve religious harmony if half of its citizens are marginalized, denigrated and discriminated against.

Today we have come to put an end to the ugly specter of religious inequality and discrimination so blatantly displayed of late in the city of Boca Raton.
As long as half of our citizens’ freedoms are impugned, we have made a mockery of the very tenets of our constitution.

This body of elected officials mouth the policies of religious tolerance and freedom of worship while their lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification. We as representatives of the Christian community and citizens of this great city have come to question how long this administration will discriminate and trammel underfoot the time-honored oath they are commissioned to uphold.  We cannot, we must not, allow for even one omission of the freedoms our forebears fought to guarantee. And we cannot allow a small committee of elected officials to undermine what every American is guaranteed.

Specifically, and to be sure, the denial of religious freedom of half of our citizens is in the fact a denial of the religious freedom of all of our citizens. We have not gathered on this historic landmark to argue a moot point about the shades of “candy canes,” or the height of a Christmas tree. We are here for the express purpose of placing a Christmas crèche in each of the eight city owned facilities that presently display the “Menorah” while once again the baby Jesus is forbidden entry into their hallowed grounds

click here for photos

Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Equal Representation

Our 12 Point Manifesto

1. Our nation was founded upon the principles of freedom of speech and religion.

2. As Americans, we are committed to preserving these Constitutional rights.

3. We, as Christians, affirm we must take an active role in defending our religious rights and liberties.

4. We believe in expressing and defending our rights through peaceful and ethical means.

5. We believe that all legal and diplomatic options should be exhausted in order to express and defend our Constitutional rights.

6. The December holiday season has historically been considered a sacred time by  Christians when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

7. The nativity scene is to Christians a religious symbol just as important as the menorah is to the Jewish culture.

8. The Christian community does not consider the evergreen (“Christmas”) tree, Santa Claus, or candy canes as religious symbols of our faith.

9. The crèche must not be excluded from any religious display instituted by city or government officials as long as there are other religious symbols present.

10. According to recent legal precedent, if one religious symbol is displayed by a city or government institution, others must be displayed as well.

11. We affirm that the Jewish community has the equal right to display the menorah wherever a crèche is displayed on city or government property.

12. We believe that we should retain our proud American heritage of keeping the person and name of Christ as an essential part of the December holiday season.

Church of all Nations Senior Pastor Mark Boykin gears up for this Thursday’s showdown with City of Boca Raton officials regarding the religious display of the manger scene inside the Boca Raton Public Library.
 
 

 A lighted Christmas tree, a tabletop electric Hanukkah menorah, and miniature Santa Claus and snowman figures are part of the downtown library's holiday decorations.
Local Christian activists on Monday announced they want more — a crèche depicting the birth of Jesus Christ.

The Rev. Mark D. Boykin, senior pastor of Church of All Nations, said he wants city officials to allow the placement of a Nativity scene near the menorah to show "religious equality."
"During these festive times, we as Christians must be included in the celebrations," Boykin said. click here for Sun Sentinel article.