EDMOND — Sometime early next year, the First Christian Church of Edmond will have a partially publicly funded statue of a religious figure holding a tablet.
The $17,500 statue will be an image of Moses. Edmond taxpayers will foot half the bill.
During a meeting Wednesday at the Downtown Community Center, the Edmond Visual Arts Commission unanimously approved spending $8,750 for the project. The First Christian Church, 201 E Second St., will pay the other half. The 6-foot-tall abstract statue will be sculpted by Gibb Singleton, a New Mexico artist, and be installed near the church's main entrance. Singleton was recommended by the church.
"We're thrilled about it,” said Chris Shorow, senior minister at the church. "I think the public art here in town is a great thing, and I'm glad we can be a part of it.”
Councilwoman Elizabeth Waner, who sits on the Visual Arts Commission, voted for the proposal and said she doesn't have a problem with the project.
This isn't the first time the commission used public funds to purchase a statue for religious property.
The commission paid $3,187.50 last year for the St. Francis statue located at the Church of the Good Shepherd near the northeast corner of Broadway and Colcord Avenue.
City officials found themselves in a controversy more than 10 years ago after a lawsuit was filed by a resident to remove a cross from the city seal.
In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that said Edmond must remove the cross from its city seal. The four-year legal fight cost the city about $300,000.
Randel Shadid, who served as Edmond mayor at the time, said that situation is different from the Moses statue because it involved a religious symbol that was placed on city property.
The Moses statue involves using public funds for a religious statue that will be placed on private property.
According to the city charter, the Visual Arts Commission was created so that businesses and civic groups could receive public funds for artwork placed on their property or in public places.
