Jan. 16 marks Religious Freedom Day. In recognition of this day, several pastors representing Mansfield, Bellville, Ontario, and Shelby attended the commissioners’ regular meeting on Thursday morning. The group of ministers shared stories of how religious freedom benefits the community.
“I believe that churches and people who exercise their religion can actually bring value to the community,” said Ben Mutti, Richland Community Family Coalition spokesperson.
Extrapolating that idea, Pastor Jerry Laudermilk of Abundant Life Tabernacle in Ontario discussed “Light Our City,” an event that saw 23 churches collaborate and serve the local community. Laudermilk stated that volunteers helped with projects at the Harmony House, Richland Pregnancy Services, as well as several parks in the area.
“All of the events that day were possible because of religious freedom…We appreciate that freedom; we treasure it. We believe that our churches and even our community are far better because we have that liberty here,” said Laudermilk.
Pastor Bill Henderson of Bellville First Baptist Church shared that his church hosts a hot food meal program in partnership with the Cleveland Foodbank. He stated that the church serves meals monthly to about 90 individuals and that the church started with a zero dollar budget and now has surplus funds of $2,000.
Other Richland County churches have participated in a number of other programs, stated Mutti. Those programs include disaster relief for people in Haiti who suffered a devastating earthquake, as well as victims of Hurricane Katrina. He added that out of the approximate 20 food pantries in Richland County, about 17 of them are church-related.
From an economic standpoint, Mutti mentioned the impact of the Living Bible Museum in Mansfield, which attracts nearly 50,000 tourists every year, thereby creating tourist dollars, he said.
During the reading of the proclamation, Commissioner Ed Olson stated, “The Richland County Board of Commissioners hereby reaffirm our common humanity and respect for all people with whom we share a brief moment on this earth by declaring Jan. 16, 2014 as Religious Freedom Day in Richland County and call upon all citizens to reflect on the great blessings of our religious freedom and practice religious tolerance among all who make up the diversity of Richland County’s population, not only on Religious Freedom Day, but throughout the year.”
“We believe that people exercising their faith and religion can actually be goodwill ambassadors representing Mansfield, Ohio and Richland County,” said Mutti.
He then commented on several outreach ministry efforts of local churches, including Berean Baptist Church, which currently has missionaries in 11 different nations.
Pointing to a map from Voice of the Martyrs, Mutti touched on the religious persecution faced by nations across the globe.
“Our hopes are that the U.S. doesn’t become one of the countries depicted on this map for religious persecution,” he said.
Religious Freedom Day is recognized nationally and commemorates the passage of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom in 1786.
“All of the events that day were possible because of religious freedom…We appreciate that freedom; we treasure it. We believe that our churches and even our community are far better because we have that liberty here,” said Laudermilk.
