Leaders OK request to fly Christian Flag in Bob Hart Square

The Merced City Council on Monday night approved a request by The Barn Church to fly the Christian Flag on one of the flagpoles in Bob Hart Square from April 11 through May 9 in honor of Easter.

Leaders voted 6-1 in favor of adding the request to the city’s Flag Calendar for the Main Street location that also includes the official U.S. and Californian flags.

The approval is part of a two-part process that will include the drafting of a resolution to be brought back for adoption by the council.

The lone NO vote came from Councilman Fue Xiong who said he strongly opposes flying the flag “especially in the light of Trump’s reelection, and the fear from our community.”

“The Christian flag was flown during the January 6th insurrection,” Xiong said. “It is a symbol used by white Christian nationalists and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation with the call for an ethnostate.”

He added, “Flying this flag undermines the separation of church and state, and in my opinion, this decision is based at the discretion of council, and so I disagree with us going forward.”

In response, Mayor Matthew Serratto called Xiong’s words “inappropriate and insulting.”

“Just know that we have Christians all across the world, of all different colors, backgrounds,” the mayor said. “I know particularly at our Black History Month flag raising, there were numerous references to God, to the Christian faith, and that was just a few days ago … Certainly a lot of folks there who spoke, including a pastor, find a lot of strength and a lot of inspiration in religion. … I just think those comments are inappropriate and kind of insulting to be honest. Because there’s people from all over the world, from all different backgrounds, who find incredible strength in Christianity, and not just the white people. I think that’s just an unfortunate statement you made. Those are my thoughts.”

 

Reason for request

In a cover letter to the City Council that accompanied a request form, the pastors and elders of The Barn Church stated: “This is not a request for any sort of establishment or endorsement of any religion, but a request for commemoration for the people motivated by their Christian faith who do so much in our world, nation and city.”

On the form itself, the reason for the flag request was as follows:
“Followers of Christ throughout the history of our nation and city have had enormously positive impacts. It is vital that we commemorate their service during the Easter season. Belief in God and the values that flow from the Christian faith (love, mercy, freedom, sacrifice, forgiveness, truth) helped form the U.S. Constitution, brought medical and educational advancements, helped bring an end to slavery, and motivated the building of our very own Mercy Hospital. The earliest settlers of Merced, including Alexander M. Hunter, also held firm Christian beliefs; as did many of the most impactful Merced non-profits. Our nation and our community are both at a crisis point where people no longer have a true north and we are seeing the consequences (Addiction/crime/mental health is skyrocketing.)

“The Barn Church believes that our community is healthiest when it recognizes the value of faith in God and that His moral law is not abstract or punitive, but that it guides us to restoration, wholeness, and an abundant life of blessing.

“We request that the Christian Flag be flown during the Easter season to commemorate the many followers of Christ who have gone before us and who continue to sacrificially serve here in our city — loving others because Christ first loved them. We are grateful for the City Council and we continue to pray for you as you fulfill your duties in service to the people of Merced.

“Speaking of the Christian Flag,” the church letter said: “The color white represents purity and peace. The blue indicates fidelity, and the red stands for Christ’s laying down his life for the world.”

An image of the Christian Flag did not accompany the related documents provided on the council’s published agenda; however, according to Wikipedia, the flag features a white field with a red Latin cross inside a blue canton.

The online source states: The Christian Flag was first conceived on Sept. 26, 1897, at Brighton Chapel on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. The superintendent of a Sunday school, Charles C. Overton, gave an impromptu lecture to the gathered students, because the scheduled speaker had failed to arrive for the event. He gave a speech asking the students what a flag representing Christianity would look like.

The Barn Church is a Gospel-centered place of worship located on Old Lake Road. According to the church website, “Our journey began on Jan. 24, 2021, in a humble barn, fueled by a fervent desire to establish a church rooted in unwavering devotion to Scripture and the pursuit of following Jesus in every facet of life. Our modest congregation soon began affectionately referring to our small church body as, ‘The Barn Church.’ The name stuck. Although we have since relocated, the original vision and passion that God instilled in us for the church remain unaltered.”

Other approved flags

The African American Flag with the words “Black History Month” is currently flying over Bob Hart Square, and will remain until the end of February. The NAACP of Merced County requested the flag to be raised in recognition of the numerous and important contributions of African Americans to the history of the United States.

Likewise, the Pride Flag – the rainbow flag to recognize the LGBTQIA+ community – is set to go up during “Pride Month” in June. The flag request was submitted by CalPride Valle Central, based in Merced.

The Merced City Council unanimously approved both requests in January, which according to the city’s stated policy, is the month when leaders are to consider the entire flag calendar for the entire year.

There was some debate Monday night on the timing of The Barn Church flag request since it came up for council consideration in February. However, the city attorney and Councilman Shane Smith pointed out that city leaders have made past decisions about the flying of commemorative flags at other times during the year.

“We approved — after two and a half hours of testimony — the flying of the Pride Flag,” Smith pointed out. “A request was brought to us in June after Pride Month had already started.”

He added, “It’s no fault of the residents who brought this forward that this policy is so fraught. I think at this point if we were to deny this request because of technical reasons or procedural reasons that would be very unfair, and I think we also beg more controversy than really is necessary for something that I think is meant in very good faith.”

Smith said he is also requesting to revisit the city’s flag policy at a future meeting “to have a fully agendized discussion on the nuts and bolts of the policy … and potentially some ways we can think about improving things.”

Mayor Serratto agreed.

“We have had the benefit of doing this for some time now,” he commented. “We have the experience of looking at other cities as well … So we need to tighten up the policy as best we can, and I think that’s a discussion for another time.”

Since 2021, a variety of flags have been flown in downtown Merced, including the Pride Flag, Mexican Flag, Italian Flag, Armed Forces Flag and the POW MIA Flag.