Ottawa Commissioner Belknap displays problematic sign during long-awaited invocation

OTTAWA COUNTY — A local pastor suing the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners for religious discrimination finally gave an invocation before a meeting this week.

What could've been a step toward reconciliation with the board is now in jeopardy after one commissioner displayed a political sign to protest the pastor's known support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Rev. Jared Cramer, of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, filed his federal lawsuit in October 2023, claiming Board Chair Joe Moss used his position as chair to “endorse a particular set of religious beliefs and exclude a particular set of religious beliefs.”

More: 'I know we can do better': Pastor suing Ottawa County gives invocation in tense meeting

Moss is the founder of far-right fundamentalist group Ottawa Impact, created in 2021 after he took issue with pre-K-6 school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cramer's attorney, Sarah Riley-Howard, said Moss has abused his power to reward or punish local faith leaders based on whether they align with his personal religious beliefs.

Despite sending Moss an email in May and a letter via certified mail in August, Howard said her client only received an invitation to give an invocation after the lawsuit was filed.

In December, Moss claimed Cramer was never excluded or denied the opportunity to give an invocation. He said he never saw Cramer's email because he receives "a high volume of emails each day" and he "had an over four-and-a-half hour (board) meeting that day."

He said he found the certified letter in October, claiming it "had become stuck at the bottom of my cubby at the county administration building."

On Jan. 12, county corporation counsel David Kallman requested the lawsuit be dismissed because Cramer "has never been denied the opportunity to give a prayer or invocation" and therefore can't prove any damages.

"The only actual conduct alleged in this case is Ottawa County’s lack of response," Kallman wrote.

Howard said Moss instituted an invocation policy and extended an invitation to Cramer after the lawsuit was filed, and that an injunction and damages are appropriate to ensure the "mistake" isn't repeated.

More: Moss offers to let pastor give invocation, but it's too little, too late

"The fact that, once they were sued, (the board) voted to implement a policy designed to follow the law and made a belated invitation to (Cramer) to lead the prayer does not let them avoid the legal remedies to which (Cramer) is entitled," Howard wrote in a Feb. 9 response to Kallman's request for dismissal.

In his prayer Tuesday, Cramer directly referenced previous actions of the board, including changing the motto and closing the county's Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In May, Moss stalled grant monies from being released to local nonprofits that serve LGBTQ+ people and racial minorities.

More: 'Compelled by force': County leader signals disdain for marginalized community programs

“God, in particular I pray for those who have been and continue to be impacted by decisions of this board,” Cramer said Tuesday. “I pray for families in households that are struggling because of reduced resources in the health department, especially those who will be more food insecure, those who will struggle to get the mental health support they need.

“I pray for people of color in our country, who, when they saw our motto of ‘Where You Belong’ taken away, along with our department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, began to wonder once more if Ottawa County can still be a home for them, if they still belong in a place where freedom does not ring for everyone.”

He also prayed for members of the LGBTQ+ community “whose attempts to understand who they are have been maligned” and “increasingly don’t feel safe, much less welcome,” in the community.

“Above all, loving God, I pray that decency, love and justice would once more come to the forefront of how our county operates, how we treat one another and how those in power allocate resources and talk about vulnerable and marginalized groups,” he said. “I know we can do better, God, if we open our hearts to your love and let that love transform us into agents of your healing.”

As Cramer delivered his comments, OI Commissioner Roger Belknap displayed a sign that said "SaveTheChildren.com," a reference to the documentary “The War on Children” created by prominent right-wing activists Robby and Landon Starbuck.

The couple are vitriolic critics of the LGBTQ+ community — particularly the transgender and drag communities — Rolling Stone reported this week.

Howard said the sign was clearly intended to antagonize her client.

"The sign that Commissioner Belknap displayed, referencing 'The War on Children' while Rev. Cramer gave the invocation, felt very much like a continued trope to attempt to justify Ottawa Impact’s discrimination toward the LGBTQ community," she told The Sentinel on Tuesday.

"It demonstrated there was no mistake or oversight when Commissioner Belknap and Commissioner Moss ignored Rev. Cramer’s multiple requests to be given the equal access the law requires to provide the invocation to start the public board meeting.

"Rev. Cramer has as much right to give voice through the invocation to his practice of Christianity, which espouses love and inclusion to all of Ottawa County, as do OI and its allies. The board majority has demonstrated over and over again that they won’t comply with the law unless and until a court makes them."

Belknap told media after the meeting, according to reporting from MLive, he made and displayed the sign "as a direct result" of Cramer's planned invocation.

A handful of county residents have filed complaints about the sign, claiming it violated the Michigan Attorney General Office's "Model Ethics Ordinance for Local Units of Government," which prohibits public officials and bodies from displaying political signs in any government building or property.

Nancy Pochron, of Georgetown Township, is one of them.

"I understand and respect that you have fundamental differences in ideology with Father Jared Cramer," she wrote to Belknap and other board members. "You could have aired your differences with Father Cramer in a much more productive and legal manner through public comment. Instead, you aired your differences on the dais of the (board) for the entire Feb. 13, 2024, meeting. Although you were partisanly elected, once elected you are required to uphold a model of ethics. You failed miserably."

The Sentinel received copies of at least one additional complaint against Belknap and one against Moss for not intervening.

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"This sign is an advertisement for a ... documentary," Derrick Muilenburg, of Zeeland, wrote in a complaint filed Tuesday. "Chairman Moss made no effort to remove this sign and is culpable for this violation."

The Sentinel sent an email to all commissioners Wednesday asking for comment. Only one, Gretchen Cosby, responded by print deadline, saying only, "Ms. Leach, you are a liar."

— Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter@SentinelLeach.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa Commissioner Belknap displays problematic sign during long-awaited invocation