Michigan
The Charlevoix County Courthouse in Boyne City has ensured that future public-facing communications about days off will not include religious imagery, as was the case with a March display announcing closure for the Friday before Easter.
FFRF learned that the Charlevoix County Courthouse was closed on March 29, 2024, in recognition of Good Friday, a dour Christian holiday preceding Easter. The courthouse announced its closure with a poster depicting the crucifixion of Jesus with the words “This is my body which is given for you. Luke 22:29.” The text immediately below the crucifixion stated that the courthouse would be closed on Good Friday.
“It is inappropriate and divisive for the county to close its offices for a specific religion’s holiday,” FFRF Staff Attorney Sammi Lawrence wrote to the county administrator. “Instead, the county should close when there are secular reasons to do so and not because it wishes to support one religion’s observance.”
Despite not hearing back after the initial letter was sent, FFRF stayed persistent, until finally, in September, Young, Graham & Wendling, P.C.’s Bryan E. Graham replied on behalf of the courthouse. He explained that the county had changed policies around closures, stating that the employee handbook had been revised so that county employees would have an extended weekend on the Friday before Easter. “Concerning the picture of the crucifix that was posted announcing the closure on Good Friday, the employee who posted that picture (at his own initiative) has been counseled that such a photograph was not appropriate in the context of county government,” Graham wrote.
