The Methodist ministry behind the 500-foot crossed-shaped pier that sparked controversy on the Jersey Shore said it will be open to the public on Memorial Day.
“We don’t mean to hurt anyone and we don’t mean to offend anyone,” Michael Badger, president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, told NJ.com.
“We are Christians and we are going to continue to be Christians in the public square, on our private lands.”
The $2-million-dollar project to restore the Ocean Grove pier, which was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy, met with criticism when its design was unveiled in July.
Some local officials and members of the LGBTQ+ community in the seaside town of about 3,000 residents expressed their concerns about erecting religious symbols in public spaces.