The 57th Easter sunrise service set for April 11 at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre was snowed out, after 27 inches of snow fell on Denver.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s Denver chapter, under attorney Robert R. Tiernan’s direction, ended an unconstitutional arrangement amounting to public subsidy of the Christian service four years ago. Until the year 2000, a church council was given free or greatly-reduced rental rates to use the public facility. The usual rental fee was $7,500, but the church group was charged only $2,000, and at one point was charged nothing at all.
The Colorado Council of Churches suffered a net loss of $3,000 last year, even though it claimed a full house of 10,000 worshippers. The total bill for last year’s event was $16,000, including the rental, crowd control, sound and parking.
The group was promised a break this year, because the city “adjusted its fee structure for nonprofits to reflect what it charges at another venue, the Denver Coliseum,” according to the Denver Post.
The sunrise service was snowed out in 1999, as well.
