Methodist Group’s Website No Longer Shows Sunday Morning Beach Restrictions
The Christian group that has called the New Jersey seaside town of Ocean Grove home for over 150 years has amended its website and removed the section about keeping beaches closed on Sunday mornings.
The decades-old policy was recently removed, according to a posting on the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association’s website, to resolve a court case brought by the state of New Jersey that would have cost the group $25,000 a day in fines for violating state beach access laws.
The OGCMA, which has kept beaches closed until noon on Sundays from Memorial Day through to Labor Day, recently erased the line under the section “Beach Regulations.” Now, just the number “4” remains on the site, followed by blank space.
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The resort town — known as “God’s Square Mile” — has kept its beach closed on Sundays from 9 a.m to noon each summer so residents can attend church services.
The OGCMA did not respond to a request for comment.
While the group has decided for now to open beaches on Sundays in order to comply with the state’s order, the OGCMA plans to return to court to fight for its religious freedom rights.
Last year, New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection issued Ocean Grove a violation letter stating the town is disobeying the law by cutting off access to the ocean, which it deems public property.
The Methodist group’s standoff with the state over beach access has divided the town. Defenders have called it a religious freedom case, while activists have countered that it’s an infringement of their rights as beachgoers. As a result, some locals began defying the policy last summer.
Image via Facebook
The state DEP, in its order, told the group: “Comply with the approved permit and conditions immediately upon receipt of this document. More specifically, immediately cease the use of chain and padlock barriers which prevents public access to the site’s beach.”
The state also threatened to fine the group $25,000 each day the beach is kept closed.
Neptune United, a civic group that has opposed the beach closures, declared victory. In a May 15 post on its Facebook page, the group said: “It appears that the OGCMA will now comply with long standing DEP regulations. Neptune United would like to thank all of its supporters who worked to make this change happen!!!”
The OGCMA is a religiously affiliated nonprofit that has owned the land in Ocean Grove — including a part of the beach, boardwalk and pier — since 1869.
Ocean Grove, a community of some 3,000 residents, was founded as a tent-revival religious retreat for Christians during the summer.
Ocean Grove has a rich past as an outgrowth of the camp meeting movement in the United States, when a group of Methodist clergy — led by William B. Osborn and Ellwood H. Stokes — formed the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association to develop and operate a summer retreat site. The camp became a popular destination for Christians during the post-Civil War years.
Camp meeting is a form of Protestant religious service that originated in Great Britain. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century.
Ocean Grove is part of Neptune, but different than most towns. While residents and businesses can purchase homes and buildings, the OGCMA owns the land and charges a leasing fee.
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.