El Paso County Commissioners didn’t waste any time with an agenda change, as decided by new Commission Chairwoman Amy Lathen earlier this week.
At the request of newly installed Commissioner Peggy Littleton, every meeting now opens with praying out loud. See my story for details.
Littleton’s appeal came at the Tuesday, Jan. 11 meeting, and two days later, at Thursday’s meeting, Commissioner Sallie Clark led an invocation.
To prevent what happened in previous years — that it became too difficult and time consuming to line up clergy to lead prayer before meetings — commissioners, county staff, community leaders and regular old folks can now give the invocation, Lathen decided, based on Littleton’s suggestion.
Prayer before elected bodies convene is legal, according to a 1980s U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and many groups now pray together or have a moment of silence before they meet.
But not everyone likes the idea. The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a formal letter of complaint on Jan. 13, on behalf of an El Paso County resident.
In the organization’s letter to the commission, Co-President Dan Barker said that government prayer is “unnecessary, inappropriate and divisive.”
“Calling upon commissioners and citizens to rise and pray (even silently) is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of secular county government,” he said. “Commissioners are free to pray privately or to worship on their own time, in their own way. They do not need to worship on taxpayers’ time.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., is a national association of freethinkers, otherwise known as atheists and agnostics.
All five commissioners said they supported increasing the frequency of public prayer before meetings. The commission has been incorporating invocations since 2006, but in recent years, it’s occurred only once a month.
“Calling upon commissioners and citizens to rise and pray (even silently) is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of secular county government,” he said.
Freethinkers don’t have to pray if they don’t want to. I can’t understand why it would be embarrassing for them not to pray.
I think Amy Lathen is marvelous to speak out! All our prayers are with you and the Commissioners! Don’t let Satan win!!!!
I hope they’re praying they’ll do a better job than last year.
Given the record of the county commission, a little divine intervention may not hurt.
If the county commissioner can’t figure out simple zoning laws, better turn to a 2000 year old set of fairy tales to help.
Please keep religion out of the political arena. The ramifications of combining the two are more than obvious worldwide. This volatile concoction is detrimental to peace, harmony, and taxpayer dollars can afford more hands working than clasped in biased, and prejudiced worship.
Thomas Jefferson said, “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” When government officials use public property, on-duty time and resources for prayer or any religious activity, they are taking money from taxpayers by force to promote a particular religious belief. If they want to pray, great, but they should do it on their own time and money. If they think they need a captive audience, something is wrong.
God belongs only in the home or in a private house of worship. As public officials you have the responsibility to show respect for everyone rather than just a few.
Three questions:
1. WHY do Christians want to encourage public prayer, especially during governmental meetings, in public schools, etc. when their own scriptures state, as a direct quote from Jesus, in
Matthew 6:5:?
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
Are they embracing “hypocrisy” or declaring themselves as “heathen”??
2. Why do Christians not follow Christ’s “second greatest commandment in Mark 12:31? “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” and again in Luke6: 31 “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” AND Matthew 7:12 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
Do they want (and welcome) non-believers, Wiccans, Muslims, or Pastifarians to denigrate and disparage Christian beliefs, life style choices and ethics as Christians do to others??
3. Why do Christians believe that being “in the majority” gives them the right to integrate their religion into our government and deny equal rights to those in the minority when T Jefferson wrote: “The majority, oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and by acting on the law of the strongest breaks up the foundations of society.” –Thomas Jefferson 1816.
Are they trying to bring down our republic??
I would really like to know the answers and, since Christians’ so often claim to have them all, maybe I’ll get one or two?
I am in complete agreement with Louise Dotter, Ken Nahigian, and Sam Smith. El Paso Commissioners, stop praying and get to work on public business while on public time being paid with public funds. When on private time, while not praying, perhaps you should read the US Constitution’s First Amendment, particularly the Establishment Clause regarding government and religion.
Public prayer might even be offensive to Christians who believe it should be private as Jesus taught. Matthew 6
Unless you’d like prayers to many gods (Hindu) or godesses, let those who want to pray do so in their own way on their own time. There has never been evidence that it helps anything.
Well as people who believe in Thor say “My god has a hammer yours got nailed to a cross any questions!”
Why did Jesus die on the cross?
He forgot his safe word!
At the Tuesday, Jan. 18, commissioners’ meeting, Commissioner Peggy Littleton passed around a sign-up sheet to audience members, for anyone to sign up to deliver invocations at meetings.
Littleton defended her call made last week, in her opening remarks at her first meeting, for more frequent prayer out loud before meetings.
Also on Tuesday, a parade of individuals addressed the commissioners, all speaking in favor of praying before every meeting and praising board members for doing so.
So i can led the invocation to Buddha or Allah or even Satan right because these are all recognized religions. OH or does it have to be Christian only? if it is just Christian only then im thinking that we may have to start calling for these members to step down. If they are not open to everyone’s religion then im sure they are not open to most things…..well unless their church says its OK. RELIGION DOES NOT BELONG IN OUR GOVERNMENT!! Commission members, consider your actions carefully. you are alienating your people over something you shouldn’t be doing in the first place. If you restrict it to one religion i will leed the charge for your resignation. HYPOCRITES!!!!
LOTS OF LOVE,
The Evil Clown
Jacque Lemieux, you really believe Satan is behind all this? He supports your public prayers that
flaunt the Bible? Sacre Blue!
OK well im not sitting quiet anymore i have started a blog to give the real answers to all this city and county clowning around
http://www.TheBigTopShop.com/evil_clown_blog.html
Check out the inscriptions on EVERY presidential tomb from Washington to Reagan: prayers of faith, not religion. If you imagine they were quoting scriptural myths written by mortals 2000 years ago, compare how few quote our founding documents written by mortals 200 years ago. Jefferson himself specified that his epitaph contain only 3 of his life achievements: after the Declaration of Independence, the most important to him was the Virginia Statute FOR Religious Freedom.