North Carolina family is ordered to take down decorative CROSS outside their property after homeowners association said it's 'not an appropriate display'
A North Carolina couple has been left stunned after they were ordered by their local homeowners association to take down a cross they placed in their front yard for Christmas.
James and Dee Faison first erected the six-foot-tall structure outside their Mulberry Park property for Easter this year, and were allegedly told by their HOA that they were able to display the Biblical symbol during religious holidays.
But the pair received a letter from the association ordering them to take down the cross or risk being fined $100 for each day that it remained on display.
It stated: 'Violation: wooded cross structure. The Board does not consider this a Christmas decoration, but an Easter/ Passover seasonal decoration.'
'We were shocked. We really were,' James told CBN News.
A North Carolina couple has been left stunned after they were ordered by their local homeowners association to take down a cross they placed in their front yard for Christmas. Resident James Faison is seen speaking with a journalist from ABC 11 earlier this month
The Faisons received a letter from the association ordering them to take down the cross or risk being fined $100 for each day that it remained on display
Pictured: one of the letters the Faisons received for their local homewoners association
'They stepped out of bounds... it was an attack on our religious freedom and so we just thought, "Hey, we're going to keep it up. We want to fight this.'"
A subsequent message from an HOA official stated: 'The cross represents the death of Jesus Christ who died for our sins so we can have eternal life. The Christmas season is associated with the birth of the Savior.
'The Board believes that the Bible is very clear on the distinction between these two major events in Christ's life on earth. The cross is appropriate for display during the Easter season, but not as a decoration during the Christmas season. Unless biblical references can be provided noting the cross as a symbol of the Christmas season for the board to reconsider, the cross is not considered to be a Christmas decoration.'
The pair subsequently provided a passage from the Bible to prove the cross had clear links with the Christmas season.
However, it appeared that it was not enough to appease the HOA.
James and Dee Faison are pictured with their two young children. The devout Christians say they letters from the HOA were an attack on their religious freedom
The Faisons first erected the cross for the Easter period, which the HOA approved
The cross also features a 'Merry Christmas' ribbon and bow tied around its center
Earlier this month, ABC 11 Eyewitness News interviewed the Faisons for local television, and the HOA stated that the incident was still under investigation.
But the couple remained defiant.
'We believe that the cross is symbolic of hope, salvation and deliverance and its so important we have this cross up for Christmastime,' James Faison told the news network at the time.
The subsequent storm of publicity led the association to change its mind.
According to CBN News, the organization rescinded their letters and are allowing the Faisons to display the cross over the Christmas season.
An official told the network: 'Mr. Faison was never fined. Mr. Faison already has a three-foot-tall cross on permanent display at the front of his home which was never in dispute.'
However, given that the larger, six-foot structure is classified as a seasonal display, it will have to come down two weeks after December 25 in order to comply with the association's rules.
The HOA has relented and the cross can remain on display for two weeks after December 25