A Massachusetts court has ruled that it’s not a violation of the state constitution for a church to receive taxpayer money to finance a restoration project, including its stained-glass windows.

Trinity Methodist Church opened in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard in 1879, and it remains an active congregation to this day. As will happen with old buildings, it’s overdue for some repairs, and its stained-glass windows are in need of restoration.

Oak Bluffs officials allocated $32,000 in tax funds under a program called the Community Preservation Act to help refurbish the church. The money comes from a surcharge on local property taxes.

Ten area residents didn’t approve of this plan, and they sued to block public funds from being handed over to a church. They noted that although Trinity Methodist is an old building, it’s not a museum. It holds worship services every Sunday morning.

Superior Court Judge Richard T. Moses ruled in November that blocking the church from getting the money “wouldn’t be in the public interest,” the Vineyard Gazette reported.

In handing down the ruling, Moses overlooked the Massachusetts Constitution, which calls for strict church-state separation.

“No grant, appropriation or use of public money or property or loan of credit shall be made or authorized by the Commonwealth or any political sub­­division thereof for the purpose of founding, maintaining or aiding any infirmary, hospital, institution, primary or secondary school, or charitable or rel­i­gious undertaking which is not public­ly owned,” reads that document in part.

It goes on to say, “[N]o such grant, appropriation or use of public money or property or loan of public credit shall be made or authorized for the purpose of founding, maintaining or aiding any church, religious denomination or society.”

The lead plaintiff in this case, Brian P. Hughes, told the Gazette: “There seems to be no end in sight. One can imagine that eventually every old church in Massachusetts will seek to maintain its physical structure with public monies. There is a significant difference between a sectarian entity raising money voluntarily from the general public to preserve an historic church and compelling citizens to maintain a church through taxation.”

In a “Wall of Separation” blog post, Americans United Assistant Communications Director Simon Brown said the town needs to find a way to restore the church with private funds.

“If Trinity Methodist Church is so beloved by its community, then those individuals who want to fix the church’s windows should find a way to repair them – with their own money,” he said. “If the community won’t pay for the restoration voluntarily, then maybe the community doesn’t value the church as much as some people would claim.”