Honor Guard Barred from Churches

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, July 3, 2015 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Maybe you haven’t heard how different the Fourth of July celebration will be this year in Georgia’s second oldest church, Abilene Baptist Church in Martinez, Georgia, founded in 1774. Its first pastor was a Revolutionary War chaplain.

For almost 20 years, the U.S. army has provided an honor guard for the church’s Independence Day celebration, but it won’t be there for the God and Country celebration this year. Why? It violates a military policy banning any involvement in a religious service.

The current pastor said, “It was an absolute shock. What a sad commentary on the state of affairs in America…. They have participated for the past two decades and now they are saying no. This is just another example of the secularization of America.”

This is particularly disturbing, because it illustrates the crack-down on religious freedom in this country. Not only does it restrict the freedom of churches to honor military forces in religious services, military personnel are deprived of their right to enter places of worship in uniform to be honored as representatives of America’s strength, freedom, protection, reassurance and security.

So, what does the “secularization of America” mean in this context? It means the Constitution of the United States has been misinterpreted so badly that the federal government can destroy religious freedom of churches, church members and military personnel who want to participate as soldiers in community churches, but the same federal government can send military honor guards – typically reserved for the President, Congress and other state functions – in uniform to carry American flags and march in this year’s gay pride parade June 13, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

Abilene Baptist Church heard the disappointing truth before July 4th this year, but children of the Bible Baptist Church in Carthage, Missouri were devastated in 2014 when the National Guard cancelled just minutes before it was scheduled to show up. The reason: federal policy.

Several members of the National Guard said they were “ashamed and embarrassed” over the situation. Another member said, “It makes me wonder what I’m actually fighting for … I honestly never thought I’d see the day that this would happen in my hometown.”

In time past, many churches have been thrilled to have military honor guards participate in Memorial Day and Fourth of July celebrations. This might not seem related, but it is. As I recall, the president never answered the woman who said to him, “We used to eat better, but now we have hotdogs and beans. Is that the new normal?” So, is the Abilene Baptist Church experience the new-normal for all of us? Surely not, this is much more serious than hotdogs and beans. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent