Satellite Beach officials shut down a Christian couple's nativity display over a lighting ordinance.
But what happened next shows how Americans fight back when bureaucrats attack Christmas traditions.
And one Florida church just gave sea turtles the perfect response after this nativity ban.
AI nativity display banned in beachside town
Jonathan Myers and his wife Emily Verrelli run Immersive Beach, a new business in Satellite Beach where they use AI technology and projectors to create light art on walls.
The couple wanted to spread Christmas cheer by projecting a nativity scene with stained glass windows and golden illumination on the exterior walls of their building.
The display went up after Thanksgiving and ran for just a few nights before city officials ordered them to turn it off.
An anonymous complaint triggered Satellite Beach's strict lighting code designed to protect sea turtles during nesting season from March through October.
"We believe Christmas to be about Jesus, so it was very disappointing when he found out that he needed to take it down," Verrelli told Fox 35.¹
The city's lighting ordinance prohibits any illumination on buildings beyond permanent signage.
City Manager Brittany Retherford justified the shutdown by pointing to city code section 30-502(d), which states "only permanent signs may be illuminated."²
Myers and Verrelli complied immediately and unplugged their nativity display.
But sea turtle nesting season ends in October and the couple didn't start projecting until after Thanksgiving in late November.
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/2003208984501657853?s=20
The timing made the environmental excuse look awfully convenient for shutting down a Christian display during Christmas.
Church steps up after city shuts down nativity
The story of the banned nativity spread across Florida after Fox 35 reported on the couple's disappointment.
The Pointe Church in Cocoa Beach saw an opportunity to practice what they preach about serving the community.
Church leaders immediately contacted Myers and offered the exterior walls of their building at 82 N. Atlantic Ave. as a new home for the nativity display.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm just along for the ride and this is just God working the plans out," Myers said about the church's offer. "This was awesome. I didn't really think what was going to happen."³
The nativity display now projects onto the back and side walls of The Pointe Church every evening from 6 p.m. to midnight through December 31.
Families can walk or drive to the church grounds to view the rotating Christmas scenes depicting the birth of Jesus.
"It's just gorgeous right here in the heart of Cocoa Beach," visitor Becky told reporters after bringing her family to see the lights. "I mean, it's beautiful, and you just stand here and take it in."⁴
Prince Rivera brought his family to see the display and praised Cocoa Beach for allowing it.
"I'm glad Cocoa Beach is letting us do it," Rivera stated. "I wouldn't miss it."⁵
Myers hopes the immersive nativity shows can spread to other locations across Florida's Space Coast in future years.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1996993961106268543?s=20
Satellite Beach needs to update its ridiculous ordinance
Look, Satellite Beach officials hid behind environmental regulations to shut down a Christian display celebrating the birth of Christ during Christmas.
Sea turtle nesting season ended two months before this nativity went up, but bureaucrats still used wildlife protection as their excuse to kill a beloved holiday tradition.
The couple suggested Satellite Beach should update its lighting ordinance to allow temporary holiday displays while maintaining environmental protections when they actually matter.
That's common sense most places would embrace, but the government loves rigid rules that give petty tyrants power to say no.
The Pointe Church showed what Christian community looks like by opening its walls to host the nativity display Satellite Beach rejected.
Churches across America need to follow that example and provide space for religious expression that secular authorities increasingly try to ban from public view.
Florida's sea turtle lighting ordinances serve a legitimate purpose during nesting season from March through October when hatchlings can become disoriented by artificial lights.
But wildlife protection can be transformed into a weapon against religious displays.
Myers and Verrelli created something beautiful to celebrate Christmas and share their faith with the community.
Satellite Beach bureaucrats chose regulations over religious freedom and shut them down.
And that's how Americans should respond when government officials use an excuse to attack Christmas traditions.
¹ Hannah Mackenzie, "Florida couple told to shut down nativity light display at Satellite Beach business," Fox 35 Orlando, December 4, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Michelle Vecerina, "Banned nativity light display finds new home in Cocoa Beach," Florida Today, December 22, 2025.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
