The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty awarded Sweetwater with its inaugural “Tiny Tim Toast” award for showing up in droves to express their opposition to taking down the Nativity scene outside the Nolan County Courthouse.
Sweetwater is a town of approximately 10,000 people about 40 miles west of Abilene.
Last week, there was standing room only when the Nolan County Commissioners Court held a public forum regarding a call from Carolyn Anne Frawley to take down the Nativity.
Frawley penned a letter to the editor of the local newspaper expressing her opposition to the Nativity display on government property, citing the separation of church and state.
Mark Rienzi, who serves as president and CEO of Becket, praised the solidarity of Sweetwater residents who showed up in support of their Nativity scene.
He said in a statement, “When the humbug spirit tried to snuff out Sweetwater’s cherished Nativity scene, the locals stood their ground with unshakable resolve. God bless them for the courage they showed in the face of adversity — it should be an inspiration to all those who wish to keep the Christmas and Hanukkah season sacred.” The “Tiny Tim Toast” award — named after the boy in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol — took the place of Becket’s annual “Ebenezer Award,” which for 23 years highlighted “the most outrageous offenders of the holidays.”