Late on Thursday night, I sent an E-mail to three Ludington city officials which was basically an inquiry into some questionable practices that seemed to be harassing towards fellow citizens otherwise complying with the rental inspection system.  Over the last couple years, coinciding with new management, city hall staff has been very responsive to such questions.  So I was surprised that neither official had replied by late morning.  One of my friends had also noted on social media that she had had no luck in trying to contact city hall that morning (or earlier in the week, for that matter).  

Worried that some other disgruntled citizen may have celebrated Guy Fawkes Day six months early, I walked over to the city hall.  There was no smoking crater; however, there was a sign on the door saying that it was closed-- with a conflicting sign immediately below it that said their hours were 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday thru Friday.  My cell phone said I took this picture just before noon on Friday.

Had there been some sort of local or state emergency declared?  Before I ran away in panic, I happened to notice another sign by closer inspection which told me why they were closed.

As you might know, Good Friday is neither a state holiday nor is it a federal holiday.  A look at the city code and charter has no official declaration that Good Friday is a local holiday.  According to Wikipedia and other sources, Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.

Our seat of local government took the day off in observance of a Christian holiday.  Maybe that explains why my friend wasn't able to contact them all week, as they may have took Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Spy Wednesday, and Maundy Thursday off too, in celebration of holy week

This seemed quite an odd holiday observation by an entity that extracted even more money from the poor folks and businesses of Ludington this year by giving all city employees raises of at least 3%.  All that while the people were enduring and suffering from the governmental restrictions being enforced and enhanced by local governments.  Our city leaders have eliminated any sort of invocation at the beginnings of their meetings, their policies have primarily worked against Judeo-Christian values, but since they observe Good Friday are we supposed to expect they are Christians?

Nope, they are just opportunists looking to get more money and take more time off whenever they can do it without too much tumult caused.  That's why Councilor Angela Serna was so disliked by city officials, she made it a lot more difficult for other officials to secretly take property and rights away without it being exposed for the corruption and unethical conduct it was.  It's not surprising she voted against the enormous pay raise to city officials during the worst of the pandemic, nor is it surprising that the mayor sought to silence her participating at meetings.  Like a crueler Pontius Pylate, Mayor Steve Miller would twice lead the efforts to engage in a modern crucifixion of such heretical behavior.  If city hall observes Good Friday, is it with the lenses of Christians or with the perspective of Roman governors?

I've always thought that any good Christian should celebrate Good Friday with either a sacrificial act or by doing some sort of noble effort that has them endure some sort of suffering.  Ed Lombard has that same idea.  Every Good Friday over the last few years, Lombard has carried his wooden cross on foot from the shore of Lake Michigan, through Ludington, on his way to Scottville.  A simple message on his cross says "Believe".  I not only observed Ed Lombard carry that cross with other normal people, but I walked with him once again since I was inspired by that simple message and his dedication to a noble purpose.  

Nobody should be surprised that there was not any Ludington city official walking with him, even though they received the day off in observation of this Christian holiday, given to them by citizens bearing the burden of gifting them that time off and funding their pay raises.

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Imo, Matthew 5:10 says it all, in many translations. (Notice there is now even a "Holman" translation.)

Thanks for letting the Torch shine, X, in pursuit of righteousness, liberties and our legal rights.

A blessed holyday to all who Believe!

https://biblehub.com/matthew/5-10.htm

These are the days when those who strive for truth and righteousness will be persecuted fully by those with improper agendas, much like one was nearly 2000 years ago.  Keep the faith whatever your beliefs. 

X, did the crowd walk to Scottville using the main road or did they make the trip in cars? Seems risky walking along the road with traffic speeding by so rapidly. When the City gives the day off with pay it's no longer Good Friday. It's Great Friday!

Very interesting link FS. No wonder there is so much conflict in the World. Even the folks who are of similar mind such as Christians, have so many different ideas on how to translate and interpret their beliefs. One verse alone with 45 different ways to understand it. The interpretations may be similar but just the fact that people want it written their way shows why religion can cause great division in people. 

Those who completed the trip to Scottville did so by walking, just like Ed Lombard, starting on sidewalks through town and then on the south side of the highway, on the small 'walkway' adjacent.  I will grant that there is some risk of effectively walking with your back to traffic that is only about 6 ft. away with only a small curb protecting you.  The cross-bearer has an additional problem of depending on spotters to make it safely across crossroads, I was helping with that once we got out of the city limits.

At the airport Shell station, someone stopped for gas made close to the same observations you did about how unsafe it was to Lombard, he shrugged it off and blessed them for their concern.  Anything in life worth doing generally comes with a little risk, participants understood that.

"Thoughts become words, words become deeds, deeds become habits, habits become character, and character becomes destiny. Therefore watch the thoughts of your mind with the sleepless eye of your mind."[3] Tyrone Edward's. I always loved that quote but didn't know its author until finding it this morning in a book, Our Country, by Tyrone Edward's, 1905, a minister in the late 1800s. And how does this tie in with Easter Sunday and the Good Friday blog? Just thinking about carrying the cross of righteousness to a Greater Resurrection in a little Sunday sermon. But the point of the blog, X, yes, it is too bad that our city has done away with prayer for seeming political reasons, trying to please the athiest and the muslims and the many fray of various philosophies, but that's the way the nation is going. For those who Believe, there be a Day when One will return and set the Path straight. That's the Resurrection and those whose thoughts have turned into righteous words, and habits and character will Know the Truth in an Everlasting Destiny.

Thanks for the quote.  

The replacement of an invocation by a 'moment of silence' at city council meetings was an opportunity lost.  Before, our public servants would have at least a few seconds where they could show some humility before Providence, and by extension show they had some humility in their service to the public.  Now we can only judge them on their actions, which have appeared to be progressively non-humble since they lost their invocation. 

It's a shame, because the philosophy that Mitch Foster brought to this town was ostensibly one based on officials humbling themselves in order to to discern the signal through the noise to determine how to best go about business.  That message has become increasingly lost; what they need is a reminder of humility at the beginning of their meetings, as an affirmation to the public that their officials are on the same team and as a notice to themselves that they aren't all-powerful.  Such invocations do not need any religious basis, but one could say that lacking such invocations at meetings, a law-making body effectively becomes the head of its own secular religion.

You'rewelcome, X. So who determines whether there will be prayer or not in city meetings? Not written in the City charter? So no official vote needed to be made by the Council? I don't recall an official resolution that prayers wouldn't be made. Is it a Mayor's sole decision in conducting meetings?

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