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Dedication ceremonies announced for Ten Commandments monuments

By Frances Borsodi Zajac fzajac@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

Thou Shalt Not Move, the grassroots group that formed in response to a legal challenge to remove a Ten Commandments monument that has been in place at a local public school for more than 50 years, is announcing upcoming dedication ceremonies for four more similar monuments to be placed in local communities.

Dedications for the new Ten Commandments monuments include:

n Sunday — Dedication takes place at First Baptist Church, 301 S. Pittsburgh St., located next to Carnegie Free Public Library in Connellsville. Music and free food will start at 12:45 p.m., with prayer for the city of Connellsville at 1 p.m.

The national anthem will be sung at 1:30 p.m., followed by a flag-folding ceremony for a fallen veteran with taps played.

n Sunday, Sept. 15 — Dedication is at 316 N. Arch St. in a parking lot across from the Amtrak station in Connellsville.

Music and free food start at 5 p.m. The dedication ceremony begins at 6 p.m., with Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 21 folding a flag.

n Sunday, Sept. 29 — Dedication is at 1 p.m. in downtown Dunbar. Music and free food begin at 1 p.m. Dunbar is blocking off a downtown street. There will be music and food under a large tent.

n Saturday, Oct. 5 — Dedication is scheduled at Paradise United Methodist Church, 105 Hoke St. in Bullskin Township. Music and food begin at 7 p.m.

For each dedication, motorcyclists will gather at Liberty Baptist Church, 183 Oliver Road, North Union Township and drive by the existing monuments before coming to the new one. Monuments already have been set and dedicated at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aries 493 on Arch Street in Connellsville, St. Paul’s African Methodist Episcopal Church on Morgantown Street in Uniontown and Juniata United Methodist Church in North Union Township.

Thou Shalt Not Move began as a response to a lawsuit against the Connellsville Area School District brought last year by the Freedom From Religion Foundation and an anonymous parent and student. They are opposed to a Ten Commandments monument at the Connellsville Junior High School that was placed there in 1957 after being donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The plaintiffs are asking for the removal of the monument, saying it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. School officials have covered the monument but not removed it. In response, Thou Shalt Not Move formed and encouraged people to erect Ten Commandments signs in their yards.

Money raised from the sale of the signs and shirts as well as donations are paying for the creation of the new Ten Commandment monuments that are being placed in communities throughout Fayette County.

The Rev. Ewing Marietta said this week that Thou Shalt Not Move is ordering another seven monuments, each costing $1,685.

He said, “We need to thank everyone for buying signs and shirts and sending in donations. They are still coming in.”

Marietta said said anyone interested in a monument or more information can call 724-570-3730 or 724-626-1265. He said a monument will be placed in Marianna, Washington County, in October and one will be erected in McVeytown, near Harrisburg, in November, Marietta said,

“We’ll go anywhere. We’ve gotten calls from North Carolina and Florida.”

Donations can still be sent to Connellsville Ten Commandments, P.O. Box 410, Connellsville, PA 15425. Signs and shirts also can be purchased and donations made at Colorama, located on Johnson Avenue in Uniontown.

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