A beach pier in Ocean Grove destroyed during Superstorm Sandy is being rebuilt by a local religious organization, but the new shape has some residents concerned it too closely resembles a cross.
Members of the small seaside town’s LGTBQ+ community and allies are saying the cross crosses a line, but many are afraid to voice their grievances with the Camp Meeting Association, said Douglas Grote, a local resident and retired Presbyterian pastor.
The cross-shaped pier feels like “Christian bullying,” said Grote, who has penned letters to local and state officials asking for intervention.
“I am so deeply concerned,” he said. ”And I am so concerned from my neighbors who are scared and bullied.”
Ocean Grove, referred to as God’s Square Mile by some of its residents, is a seaside community of roughly 3,000 residents located just south of Asbury Park. It’s technically not its own town — Ocean Grove is a small section of Neptune Township, set aside with a unique charter.
It was founded more than 150 years ago as a summertime, tent-revival religious retreat. It was governed by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist ministry, as a religious enclave for 100 years until the New Jersey Supreme Court declared its charter unconstitutional after a series of lawsuits.
However, the Camp Meeting Association still owns all the land and has enormous influence on the community and its residents. When buying a home in Ocean Grove, residents must enter into a land-lease agreement with the camp, meaning while residents and businesses can own buildings in Ocean Grove, the Methodist group owns the land.
The camp’s authority also extends to the beach, boardwalk and all its associated staff and activities.
The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association broke ground on its pier restoration project during a ribbon cutting ceremony in July, when camp leadership unveiled a rendering showing the redesigned pier in the shape of a cross.
The new design is practical, functional and an improvement over the prior design, according to Michael Badger, president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.
When asked if the pier was purposely redesigned to resemble a Christian cross, seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus, Badger said the design was, “highly functional, to be in the shape that it’s been designed to be.”
The boardwalk in Ocean Grove has been repaired in the years since Superstorm Sandy, but the full length of its pier —which once housed a members-only fishing club — was never reconstructed, Badger said.
That’s why the camp embarked on a three-year fundraising campaign called “American Treasure,” ultimately raising $550,000 to go toward a new pier and beachfront facilities. The camp is using $750,000 of internal resources to meet the $1.3 million needed to complete the full restoration.
The end of the Ocean Grove pier as it currently exists. The pier extends onto the beach but not very far over the sea. Photo courtesy of Michael Badger, President of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association.
The above drawing appears on the website for the American Treasure fundraiser, which was dedicated to raising funds for the new pier.
A website launched in 2019 for the fundraiser includes a concept rendering of the new pier. The fundraiser was open to the public, not just members of the Camp Meeting Association.
“The completed pier will provide a publicly accessible attraction for all to enjoy; new opportunities for our community; future programs, and enjoyment for generations to come,” a website for the American Treasure fundraiser reads.
The new design will restore the Ocean Grove pier to its historic length of 500 feet and include additional observation angles, as well as new safety features, according to the Camp Meeting Association.
There’s been a lot of support for the project, Badger said.
The project received approvals from the state under the Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, according to Neptune Township Business Administrator Gina LaPlaca.
“Because it is property owned by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, and over water, the township did not have any zoning authority over the pier’s placement or design,” LaPlaca said.
Since the pier project did not have to go through local officials for approval, many residents were surprised by the new cross-shaped pier design, said Shane Martins, an attorney who sits on the Neptune Zoning Board and lives in Ocean Grove.
Martins, who is gay, said even if he’s not personally offended by the design, “it’s not just about me, there’s other people being hurt.”
“Once this pier is built like a cross, I believe that will be the point of a no return,” Martins said. “To say that cross doesn’t represent Christian nationalism, anyone who says that isn’t being honest.”
The complete pier will be accessible to the public and it will not include any exclusive, membership-only component, said Badger.
Construction will begin the week of Sept. 12, according to the Camp Meeting Association.
This is not the first time the Methodist group has faced secular and LGBTQ+ complaints.
In 2012, a state administrative law judge found the camp violated the state’s law against discrimination when it denied two Ocean Grove residents the use of its boardwalk pavilion for their 2007 civil union ceremony.
After the dispute, the Camp Meeting Association nixed the possibility of all weddings, gay or straight, at its boardwalk pavilion by prohibiting private events and ceremonies at the facility.
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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
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Jersey Shore pier in shape of cross in deeply religious town raises concerns - NJ.com
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