MIDDLETON, Wis. – The city of Middleton may eliminate pavilion reservations at a park where local mothers host weekly “Jesus Lunches” for high school kids, apparently to accommodate the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an anti-Christian organization that protested the lunches in the spring.

Mike Davis, the city administrator, says he recommended the new policy to show that the city is not giving preferential treatment to any single group that wants to use the large pavilion at Fireman’s Park, a city-owned facility near Middleton High School.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Under the proposed policy, the pavilion would be used on a first-come, first-serve basis – by the local Jesus Lunch group, protesters from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), or anyone else who manages to show up first.

The mothers who host the Jesus Lunches have already reserved the pavilion for a few hours, one day per week, for the coming school year. If the policy is approved, the reservations would be cancelled and the deposit money refunded.

Davis admits that no other group has tried to reserve the pavilion during the school year. He says only two other groups – one of them the Madison, Wisconsin based FFRF – have even inquired about using the pavilion during school hours.

Protesters from the FFRF showed up during the Jesus Lunches several times in the spring to protest and disrupt the parents and students, who simply want to be left alone to eat and discuss their faith.

One week the protests prompted an exchange of heated words between students and the protesters.

The proposed ordinance has fed speculation that the city may be maneuvering to end the Jesus Lunches, which involve the local mothers serving free food during lunch hour and discussing Christ with hundreds of students who voluntarily attend.

The lunches take place on Tuesdays during warm weather months at Fireman’s Park.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

“You would think the city of Middleton would want to support people from the city of Middleton, not discourage them,” said attorney Phillip Stamman, who represents the mothers who host the Jesus Lunches. “They seem more interested in an outside group than they are in residents of the city.

“This is very disappointing. If there is no significant demand (for use of the park pavilion), why would you discourage someone from renting it? It’s disappointing for citizens, from a free speech perspective, and it’s probably illegal, too.

“The city can put neutral restrictions on a public park. But it’s not allowed to single out an organization because it doesn’t like their speech. There’s no question this is happening right now. This is about a group of citizens who want to put out a message about Jesus, and (city officials) are only considering this ordinance because they don’t want that message.

“That’s targeted hostility toward one group, which is exactly what the First Amendment prohibits.”

Stamman said it’s his understanding that the Middleton city attorney has advised against adoption of the ordinance.

“He knows they are encouraging a lawsuit if they pass it,” he said.

The Jesus Lunches became the topic of local, statewide and national discussion in the spring when the Middleton-Cross Plains school district, which leased Fireman’s Park from the city during school hours on a non-exclusive basis, tried to stop the lunches.

The school district finally backed off in May and ended its lease of the park, after city officials indicated that the Jesus Lunch group had a right to reserve and use the pavilion.

But now the city is considering the new ordinance that would end reservations.

Melissa Helbach, one of the mothers who organize the Jesus Lunches, said the group must have the pavilion for food preparation and shelter during bad weather.

The possibility of having hostile groups like the FFRF vying to use the pavilion at the same time might force the Jesus Lunches out of the park, because it would create a negative environment for the students, Helbach said.

The proposed ordinance was recommended by Davis and the city police chief. Two city committees that advise  the Middleton Common Council considered the proposal but failed to act on it, according to Davis.

But the final say lies with the Common Council. The pavilion proposal may be on the agenda at its Aug. 2 meeting, according to Davis.

“The police chief and I recommended the ordinance about not allowing reservations of the shelter during school hours,” Davis said. “We presented the pluses and minuses of that.

“The positive would be that no one group would get to make reservations. It would be available to all groups at all times. The negative is that it would be on a first-come, first-serve basis, which could set off competing groups within the park.

“The chief and I both thought this was an option worthy of consideration.”

Davis admits that there wasn’t any interest in reserving the park pavilion during the school year until the Jesus Lunch group started using it, and protesters started showing up.

“This is actually quite unusual that anybody would reserve the shelter during the school year, when the restrooms are not open,” Davis said. “We did have (recent) interest expressed by others to reserve the shelter, like the Freedom From Religion group.”

Davis said the city never disputed the right of the Jesus Lunch group to use the city park, but added that he urged the mothers to move the event to another park, further away from the school, to end the dissention that the lunches are supposedly causing among Middleton High School students.

“It’s created a furor of activity and dissention in the high school,” Davis said. “Part of that is about First Amendment rights, and part of it is what students say to other students that’s hurtful. I’m not saying that comes from any one side (of the issue), but it’s out of line.

“This is clearly something that has bled into the community as a community issue.”

Stamman said claims about dissention between students have been overblown.

“I don’t think Mike (the city administrator) has much personal experience in that school,” the attorney said. “He’s probably hearing that from people who are trying to make a bigger deal out of it than it is. It’s a free lunch given to kids, who can then choose to stay and listen to the message or leave.

“There was no protesting from anyone until the school made it a big issue, then when the Freedom From Religion group started to protest, some kids joined in. There’s really not much there to protest.”