I saw this today in the New London Day. I think Mr. Russell should keep his mouth shut... This is a little town, who takes pride in its traditions and it is not just Christmas music other things bother him too, does a church in the town bother him too, or just the fact they are promoting themselves? You may be an Atheists but the rest of us love the music and the home town feel of the town.

State your opinion.


by Sean Elliot
• The Jewett City Baptist Church on Main Street is the target of a complaint by American Atheists Inc. that contends the music broadcast from the church's belfry is a violation of the separation of church and state. Borough Warden Cynthia Kata, however, says the music will not be stopped, setting the stage for a possible legal confrontation
Griswold — About this time each year, a town employee unlocks the closet in the front hall of the Jewett City Baptist Church.
With the push of a button, the music that's heard from a large speaker hidden inside the church's steeple changes each hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., from selections that range from “America the Beautiful” to “Away in a Manger.”
It's been a tradition in the borough for more than a decade.
The Connecticut chapter of American Atheists Inc. thinks it's time that the tradition either ends or is altered.
The organization has filed a complaint with the town and the borough governments claiming the music is too loud. After contacting the resident state trooper, the organization was “shocked” to learn that the borough owns the system that is housed at the church.
“This is clearly a violation of the separation of church and state,” said Dennis Paul Himes, director of the state chapter.
Borough Warden Cynthia Kata doesn't see it that way.
“If there is one of the songs that they find offensive, I'll take it off,” Kata said. “But I'm not going to get rid of 'Jingle Bells' or 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' because some nut doesn't like it.”
•••••Unsure what to do with some grant money a decade ago, the warden and burgesses at the time decided it would be nice to have church bells ringing along Main Street. They bought a sound system to play recordings of church bells.
They asked the Jewett City Baptist Church if they could install a large speaker in the church's belfry and a CD player in a downstairs closet. The church is centrally located and the steeple is the highest point in the borough.
The congregation agreed, with conditions. The church would not be responsible for the equipment, any complaints or the music selection. Secular music could be played, but “no Elvis.”
Bells are supposed to chime at 15, 30 and 45 minutes past the hour, although the timing is about 10 minutes off. On the hour, a selected song plays.
More than 400 tunes, most of which are not religious, are available for selection. During the spring and summer, the repertoire includes “Danny Boy,” “Over the Rainbow” and “God Bless America.” In the fall and winter, in honor of Christmas, it includes “Ave Maria,” “Joy to the World” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
At 9 each morning during the non-holiday season, “Onward, Christian Soldiers” plays. It's a special request of borough Treasurer and former Selectwoman Virginia Hoddy. That's when she makes the quarter-mile walk from her Ashland Street house to her office at Town Hall.
Norwich resident William Russell, an atheist who alerted the state organization to the chimes, visits the borough a couple times a month to see a relative and help her with her banking. The first notes of “Onward, Christian Soldiers” make him cringe.
“It's against the Constitution,” he said. “It needs to be silenced.”
•••••On Friday, Russell said he can hear the bells when he drives by in his car despite having the windows rolled up and rock music blaring. But to Himes, the director of the state chapter of the atheists organization, the sound level is not the biggest problem.
“The town operating the equipment in the church is a more serious issue than the volume,” he said. “It's offensive. The town is allowing the church to benefit from the music — free advertising.”
American Atheists Inc. has formally asked the borough to divest itself of the chimes by selling the equipment to the church for a fair-market price. Then, Himes said, the borough must monitor the volume.
Pastor David Honeychurch said he was not surprised that someone would complain, but was surprised to hear that the complainant was from out of town.
Honeychurch said he sympathizes if the people who live around the church are disturbed by the chimes, but added that no one has come to the church to complain.
He said the church is not interested in purchasing the equipment or assuming the responsibilities associated with it. “We're satisfied with remaining in the middle,” he said.
Himes has notified the national atheists organization of the situation and will report once the borough responds to his letter.
Kata, the borough warden, said she and the burgesses will consider the letter at their next meeting, possibly this month.
“It's not a church thing. We don't pay them and they don't ask for money,” she said.
Kata said she understood that the volume of the music and chimes could be annoying to neighbors but that she's never before received a formal complaint. She also said she would remove any songs that people find offensive.
While Russell said that would help, he wants the borough to give up its equipment. He also wants the system turned down to the point that, if he drives by the church with his car windows rolled up, he cannot hear the chimes.
“If I played rap, rock and heavy metal, the music I listen to, from a speaker on top of a roof, I'd be told to turn it down or off,” he said. “Why should the church be able to do it?”
If the issue is not resolved, Russell said, it will most likely end up in court.
m.bard@theday.com