Church Wins Fight to Fly Christian Flag in Pasadena

It took a little time, but Ray Risser got the satisfaction Thursday of seeing the Christian banner flying in a nice breeze beside Old Glory at the First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena.

“I feel they corrected the error,” the 90-year-old retired social studies teacher said. “It was clearly unconstitutional. I couldn’t understand what they thought was wrong with it at all.”

Risser’s reference was to zoning officials, who earlier decreed that the city’s sign ordinance prohibited the church on Sierra Madre Boulevard from flying the Christian banner on one of two flagpoles erected on church property with $10,000 donated by Risser.

The ruling was upset this week when the Pasadena Board of Directors asked City Atty. Victor Kaleta for an opinion. The legal officer held that the church has a constitutional right to fly its flag under the First Amendment.

Risser never doubted that those who insisted that only government flags can be flown under the city’s ordinance were merely wrongheaded. He insisted that the Christian flag is a form of identification, like a house number.

“We never thought there was any provision against it,” Risser said Thursday after the Christian flag had been raised. “All we wanted was to have the church flag fly beside the American flag. It’s high time the churches had some recognition.