A group that advocates for the separation of church and state and the Peoria mayor are sparring over this year’s state of the city being held at a church.
The main event was April 3 at Christ’s Church of the Valley, 7007 W. Happy Valley Road. Secular AZ Legal Director Dianne Post stated in a letter dated March 19 to Mayor Jason Beck and City Attorney Emily Jurmu that holding such an event there is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
In the letter, Post asked the city to move the event, contending having it at a religious venue is a violation of the Establishment Clause, which prohibits government sponsorship of religious messages, according to the letter.
