In a fight over a school display of a Jesus painting, the American Civil Liberties Union may have won the battle, but a handful of Ohio faithfuls seems to have won the war.
A painting of Jesus Christ hung for decades at John Glenn High School in New Concord. But a senior student, apparently upset that administrators wouldn’t let an art project with a message “Gay is Okay” stay on display, asked the ACLU to sue over the Jesus painting, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
The school took it down, but it’s since been displayed instead at a local church. But those in the community who loved the image went a step further and came up with money to place a similar picture of Jesus on private property near the school, the Zanesville Times Recorder reported.
The new sign was announced in a tweet from the Times Recorder: “Jesus sign installed near John Glenn High School to replace removed painting.”
The sign, placed on top of a white column and located on private property owned by Terry and Cathy Hodgson, reads, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and includes mention of Psalm 23. It’s also easily seen by those who enter and exit the nearby school, the media outlet reported.
The illuminated sign cost $6,000, the Times Recorder reported.
“I went to that school and graduated from that school,” Mrs. Hodgson told the Times Recorder. “I really felt very good about it. I was proud to do it.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.