Patriot Brief
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Mayor order challenged: The mayor of Mullins, SC, asked for a Nativity scene to be removed from public property over church-state concerns.
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Committee stands firm: The Mullins Beautification Committee refused to comply and kept the display in place.
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Community support: Local residents and council members backed keeping the Nativity scene as part of Christmas decorations.
When a mayor in a small South Carolina town tried to take down a humble Nativity scene from public property this Christmas season, she ran headlong into the spirit of a community that isn’t afraid to stand up for their faith. The beautification committee in Mullins had decorated the town marketplace with lights, wreaths, and a traditional Crèche — only to be told it had to go because it might offend someone. Instead of backing down, the committee declared Jesus is central to Christmas and kept the display up, drawing support from locals who say the Bible Belt town shouldn’t hide their beliefs for the sake of political correctness.
Breitbart reports:
A small town committee in South Carolina kept a Nativity display in a market parking lot in defiance of the mayor’s order that it be taken down.
The controversy began in Mullins, South Carolina, around Thanksgiving when Kimberly Byrd, head of the Mullins Beautification Committee, said her committee would decorate the town’s new marketplace “like a Hallmark movie” for the Christmas season, believing it would draw in business. The group paid for the decorations out of their own pocket and included a Nativity scene, but Mayor Miko Pickett reportedly asked that it be removed, fearing it would offend residents of other faiths.
“I would like to clarify my reported comment about the nativity scene. I requested that the nativity scene be removed solely from the PUBLIC parking area. The reason for this is the separation of Church and State applies to municipalities as well, regarding religious symbols on public property and parks [sic],” Pickett said in a public Facebook post.
“We are a community composed of various ethnicities and religious beliefs. Both my family and I are deeply rooted in our own beliefs,” she added.
Byrd told Fox News that she refused to back down and vowed to keep the Nativity display. “Our small town, we have a church on every corner,” Byrd told Fox News. “It’s a faith-based community in the Bible Belt. I’ve been here 53 years of my life and never heard of anything like this happening here.”
This Christmas controversy highlights a broader cultural moment where everyday Americans are pushing back against overly cautious interpretations of church-state rules. In Mullins, keeping the Nativity scene wasn’t just about holiday decor — it was a stand for faith in the public square.
Photo credit: Nick Fewings/Unsplash