— A local church association has asked the McAlester City Council to reverse a decision by the city manager to remove street sign silhouettes depicting soldiers kneeling before a cross.

A group of members representing the Gaines Creek Association of Free Will Baptists met recently and signed a resolution asking the council to reverse City Manager Pete Stasiak’s decision.

“It offended me when I saw they took those down,” said James Prince, executive chairman of the board for the association.

The association includes six Free Will Baptist churches: New Hope, Fellowship, Canadian Shores, Stuart, Bethel and Tannehill.

“It just goes against the grain for me and probably 95 percent of the other folks in the area,” Prince said.

The removal came to light after McAlester resident Bill Derichsweiler said he was given the silhouettes by Bob Wallace, the man who paid for them. Derichsweiler took them to the city, which installed them atop street signs throughout the downtown area.

Many of the two-dimensional sign-toppers feature small town, country or western scenes. Those that were removed, though, included crosses.

“I went to the paper and to Pete Stasiak and (city attorney) Joe Ervin and I told them I couldn’t believe the city took those silhouettes down,” Derichsweiler said.

“I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t keep those up on the signs.”

 Wallace, the McAlester business owner who paid for the silhouettes, said he was saddened over the removal.

“It made me feel bad,” he said.

For Stasiak’s part, he said the removal followed a complaint about the crosses being used on public property.

“I had them removed because of a conflict with church and state,” he said.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”

Ervin, attorney for the City of McAlester, said there was legal reason to remove the signs.

 “The First Amendment prohibits government from any establishment of religion; the cross is a Christian symbol,” Ervin said. “It’s the same as if it had been a crescent moon or the Star of David or any symbol representing a specific faith.”

Meanwhile, the resolution signed by the church association members asks the McAlester City Council to reverse the city manager’s decision because removal discriminates against Christians.

A letter with the resolution from the association states:

“For several decades the 1 percent that oppose Christian values have worked very hard to impose their secular beliefs on the other 99.9 percent through our legislative, judicial and executive branches.”

“Recently the city installed (silhouettes) depicting a U.S. military (member) kneeling in silent prayer. By order of the city manager these ... were removed supposedly so not as to offend anyone. Much could be said about that but I think you get the picture.”

The resolution argues that because the silhouettes picture soldiers kneeling in prayer that they should be allowed, because silent prayer is not a violation of the Constitution.

The resolution says the depiction should be “welcomed,” not removed.

“The military witness of actual battlefield situations should be a welcome gesture and not put in a negative light to offend those who stood in harm’s way to protect our freedoms.”

The resolution then asks the council to reverse the decision of the city manager for the will of the people.

“Be it further resolved that GCAFWB call on the city council of McAlester to reverse the city manager’s decision to have said figurines reinstalled in accordance to the will of the people.”

In the interim, at least three of the silhouettes have been installed on St. John’s Catholic Church property by Derichsweiler.

“I put one on the side of the church and the other two near the parking lot,” he said.

Jeanne LeFlore writes for the McAlester News-Capital.