Kansas City “Grinch” Bans Religious Decorations at City Hall
There will be no religious symbols in City Hall in Kansas City, Mo., this Christmas season. Absent from even personal desk spaces are nativity scenes and anything overtly religious concerning Christianity.
City Manager Mario Vasquez said in a staff memo that the city wants to make sure it “remains a welcoming space for everyone.”
“Council members, as we prepare for the holiday season, I want to share how we will approach seasonal décor at City Hall this year,” he wrote, according to Fox News. “To ensure City Hall remains a welcoming space for everyone and to honor the separation of church and state, we will not display religious symbols as part of our holiday decorations. This helps us respect the wide range of religious and non-religious beliefs held by our employees, visitors and residents.”
“Secular” and “cultural” décor, however, remain welcome, he said. Kansas City leaders and members of the Jewish community held a Menorah lighting ceremony, with one rabbi saying that it was especially important in the wake of the anti-Jewish massacre in Australia.
“We will still make the building feel festive with secular/cultural décor,” Vasquez said. “That includes items like decorated trees, winter greenery, lights, poinsettias and cultural symbols such as the Kinara representing Kwanzaa. These decorations celebrate the season without representing any specific faith tradition.”
“I could not be more disgusted and discouraged by this memo & the message this sends to our faith communities throughout Kansas City,” Nathan Willett wrote on Facebook. “Christian symbols among other faith traditions during this season should be proudly displayed in City Hall.”
Sherae Honeycutt, press secretary and spokeswoman for the city manager’s office, told Fox News Digital that, “For many years, Kansas City has installed Christmas and holiday decorations throughout City Hall, and that practice continues. This year, the Kansas City Council has authorized the lighting of a Menorah to celebrate Hanukkah. We invite anyone to come visit City Hall and admire our various holiday displays.”
READ: How Kansas City celebrated Christmas in years gone by
Vasquez closed his memo by thanking council members for their “understanding as we work to keep City Hall a place where everyone feels included during the holidays.”
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway criticized the memo on social medial, writing, “A Grinch-like memo to expressly EXCLUDE Christian and Jewish celebrations and passing it off as inclusivity. Many Missourians are proud to display their religious symbols. I am saddened to see our faith communities discouraged from celebrating because of ‘inclusivity.’
“A public office should not be in the business of discouraging religious views. I personally consider it to be very insensitive to exclude certain religious celebrations and sincerely held religious beliefs under the guise of ‘inclusivity.'”
“I feel like my faith tradition & other neighbors are no longer welcomed at City Hall,” Willett told KCTV 5 News. “My council office will fight back on this memo. It is the holiday season because there are many – ALL should have the opportunity to be celebrated.”
