RACINE, Wis.  Leaders of Trinity Lutheran Church have shunned a $500,000 contract for a cellular telephone antenna because accepting it would have created with ill will with neighbors in the community.
According to The Journal Times, the church would have received $1,250 per month with increases for inflation from U.S. Cellular for allowing the company to place an antenna inside a cross on top of the church.
The church had voted in favor of the contract in September, but leaders changed their minds when members of the community expressed opposition.
Families living in the area expressed concerns over possible health problems and the effect on property values.
City aldermen voted against allowing the antenna at the church, but U.S. Cellular officials vowed to file a federal suit to override them if the church agreed to the contract. But the church wanted no part of that, according to the newspaper.
"We've been trying to get more involved in the neighborhood," said the Rev. Steve Jennings, associate pastor. "This is counterproductive to that. A church is here to proclaim the Gospel and not to get the neighbors upset."
