Mesa churches douse fireworks annual shows

The two megachurches in north-central Mesa have each traditionally treated folks to separate spectacular fireworks shows. They've been dueling fireworks that have brilliantly lit the skies over the neighborhood, although not always on the same night. But not this Independence Day.

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Both scrapped their shows without awareness of each other's plans, which means folks around Brown and Lindsay roads will see a dark sky tonight.

Central Christian Church of the East Valley, 933 N. Lindsay Road, has opted to forgo "Fire in the Sky" and instead do their fireworks on Aug. 30 as part of Labor Day weekend. The show, lasting 20 to 35 minutes, had been presented for the Fourth of July for eight straight years.

Nearby at Living Word Bible Church, 3520 E. Brown Road, there will be no show because of the costs of fireworks, said Randy Brasmer, church accountant.

The two large nondenominational congregations are known for their wide range of programming and creative evangelical outreach to the community.

"It had nothing to do with Central Christian as far as competing with them," Brasmer said. "It is the times right now - economics." Fireworks in recent years have cost the church as much as $25,000, he estimated.

As an alternative, Living Word held a patriotic program during last weekend's services that featured a salute to American servicemen in uniform and dramatic fireworks-like special effects inside the sanctuary.

At Central Christian, associate pastor Chip Stauffer said, "There were different opportunities around the Valley, including one within a mile (Living Word) of our campus and another one in Mesa, so we thought we would do something different" and move it to Labor Day weekend, when weather is typically cooler.

"We had assumed Living Word would do it" this year, he said. "We thought, 'Let's be different and have fun on Labor Day weekend.'"

Lou Eagley, who lives on Adobe Road across the street from Central Christian, said he was happy when he read the church marquee announcing the display's move to Labor Day. While he said the church and police "do the best job they can" to deal with the crowds and clean up debris, the church's fireworks event attracted huge crowds that shut down the neighborhood. RVs would begin parking on his street the day before, followed by tailgaters.

Another Central Christian neighbor, Dawn Parker, said her family has watched the fireworks in past years, "but it is not a big deal whether they have them or not. My 5-year-old is actually kind of afraid of the fireworks and the noise."