A large white cross that has been on display on top of the hill in Jackson County, Michigan since 1950 has been removed following a complaint from the Michigan Association of Civil Rights Activists (MACRA).
The Grass Lake Ministerial Association, which owns the cross, holds a permit to erect the display at the top of Sackrider Hill in the Waterloo Recreation Area, but the group agreed to take it down on May 14 following a meeting with officials from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
"Basically, it came down to, there was a cross that we didn't own that was on land that we did own," said DNR deputy public information officer John Pepin, according to MLive.
"We worked with the people that owned the cross and they voted to support removing it to a permanent location," he added.
According to Christian News Network, the cross drew complaints from local residents back in the 1990s after a photograph of the monument appeared in a local newspaper. The residents argued that the display violated the separation of church and state, but the cross remained on top of the hill after a probe concluded that no constitutional violation was committed.
A new complaint was recently filed by MACRA, which claimed that they were approached by a lifelong resident of the area who opposed the display of the cross on publicly owned land.
MACRA Co-Founder Mitch Kahle commended the DNR for its decision to remove the cross. "We are pleased with the DNR's action to remove the cross without further controversy," said Kahle in a press release, according to MLive.
"Obviously the park manager made a mistake by issuing the permit in 1992, but the DNR's action today corrects the problem," Kahle went on to say.
The Grass Lake Ministerial Association has been holding Easter services at the area since 1938. The group had brought a temporary cross each year until a permanent one was installed in 1950, according to MLive.
Pepin noted that the cross was stolen back in 1968, but was replaced that same year. The monument was later moved to a different location in the Waterloo Recreation Area in 1992.
A special-use permit will be granted to the Grass Lake Ministerial Association so that it can continue holding Easter services at the recreation area and bring a temporary cross, Pepin said.
In March, a group called Grassroots Jackson launched a petition to "save the Jackson cross." Representatives of the group have stated that the online petition has drawn more than 3,500 signatures.
"The cross is a recognized landmark, has been a meaningful place for people to gather throughout history, and is part of many residents' personal memories. Rather than let one voice tear it down, thousands are speaking up," said Grassroots Jackson member Billie Dawson at the time, according to MLive.
