Tag Archives: Topic: Prayer

Salisbury Post: An attorney from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has asked the Kannapolis City Council to stop opening its meetings with prayer.

One News Now: But Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney Brett Harvey says that argument is becoming all too commonplace. “Unfortunately, we see this over and over again throughout the country,” he laments. “They’re using fear, intimidation, and, quite frankly, disinformation to try to bully schools into taking away and cutting out any form of religious expression in the public schools, and it’s simply not necessary.” [more]

Elizabethton Star: The Senate has passed a proposal that would allow school personnel to participate in student-initiated religious activities on school grounds.

KnoxNews.com: The Lenoir City School Board has ceased opening its meetings with a prayer in a response to secular organizations who allege that prayer at board meetings and other school functions violates the Constitution.

My San Antonio: As Texas students return to class from Spring Break, some officials with Medina Valley Independent School District have been given a homework assignment by a federal judge: apologize.

Salisbury Post: Only two of the 15 candidates say the county should follow the direction of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. Five others said they would change the way they pray if ordered but would support a legal fight. One did not respond.

Sun Journal: “I have been advised for a long time, not recently, not the last six months but for a long time, that it was recommended that if we were going to do a public prayer, that it needed to be, for the lack of a better term, a generic prayer,” Sanders said Tuesday after the meeting. “I’ve always had a problem with that. That’s just not the normal way for Christians to pray.

MySanAntonio.com: Hawaii will pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit by a protester who was dragged out of the state Senate when he objected to a prayer.

Wanganui Chronicle: The council has a long-standing tradition of saying a Christian prayer after the formal opening of its six-weekly meeting. That tradition was challenged by Councillor Clive Solomon, and the dispute has been dragging on for more than a year.

Wausau Daily Herald: A southern Indiana pantry can no longer distribute federal food items because it asks clients to pray, and the agency cutting off the supply says it’s merely complying with state rules.

IOL News: Pagan prisoners in Britain are demanding the right to pray naked and wear hooded robes in their cells.

Robert Knight at the Washington Times: As the American Civil Liberties Union prowls the land to muzzle public prayers, rip out Ten Commandments monuments and terrify small towns over Nativity scenes, help may be on the way from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Newbernsj.com: Two residents speaking to Craven commissioners about their decision to stop the formal prayer before meetings to avoid a lawsuit said pray anyway.

Brown Daily Herald: Seven people are seeking an injunction to block a federal judge’s ruling that ordered Cranston High School West to remove a prayer banner from its auditorium, the Providence Journal reported. After almost two months of debating whether to appeal the ruling, the banner was officially removed last weekend.

ABC 6 (includes video): The controversy over the prayer banner at Cranston High School West has come to an end. The banner was recently removed for good, and Tuesday there’s an agreement between the city of Cranston and the ACLU over legal fees.

The Republic (AP): “Pray for Our Schools,” many fading yard signs scattered throughout Santa Rosa County say, remnants of a bitter court battle over school prayer between conservative Christian groups and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Arab Tribune: Marshall County Schools Superintendent Tim Nabors is responding with what one might call “passive resistance” to a letter from the Freedom from Religion Foundation in its call for no more prayers before board meetings and other demands.

WPTZ.com: For years, the Vermont town of Franklin near the Canadian border started Town Meeting with a prayer. A lawsuit stopped that from happening this year.

Salisbury Post: The Alliance Defense Fund, a national group focused on religious freedom, defended the county. Now that Forsyth has lost the case and is responsible for the ACLU’s legal bill of about $200,000, a citizens group that formed to help defend the county — the N.C. Partnership for Religious Liberty — will pay the bill. • Another fight? The Alliance Defense Fund suggested an alternative policy for the board . . .

Christian Institute: The Welsh Government is being urged to restore prayers to council meetings following a similar move in England.

Clay Today Online: Two attorneys who represent Florida school districts dealing with prayer-related litigation say the Clay County School District is generally on track with its current policies that control public access to school property.

HeraldOnline.com: South Carolina senators will consider creating a State Day of Prayer to coincide with the national one.

BNC.com: A central Missouri judge is considering a legal challenge over a state constitutional amendment dealing with prayer.

Charlotte Observer: So far, at least 15 government bodies have agreed to change their policies after being contacted by the organization, state ACLU spokesman Mike Meno said.

NECN.com: A proposal that would allow school personnel to participate in student-initiated religious activities on school grounds has passed the House.

MySantAntonio.com: House Majority Leader Arlen Siegfreid has introduced a bill to set aside space in the Kansas Statehouse for prayer, meditation and reflection.

Miami Herald: After impassioned debate, the so-called school prayer bill passed the House by an 88-27 vote.

David Whisenant at Salisbury.WBTV.com: I have never heard a prayer delivered by any commissioner that could be considered a violation of the establishment clause. One simple prayer at the beginning of a meeting cannot be viewed as religious establishment by any rational, reasonable person

F.E. Cornejo at Pasadena City College Courier: DOMAWatch.org, a site devoted to providing legal information to uphold the tradition of marriage states . . . Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the Christian based legal counsel institution that represents Protect Marriage, has a clear stance. “With God’s grace, ADF and our allies will continue to fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary, to uphold marriage as the union between one man and one woman.” This past weekend, ADF established National Pray for Marriage Day . . .

St. Alban’s Messenger: Judge Martin Maley will not rule on the constitutionality of town prayer at Franklin’s Town Meeting prior to Town Meeting Day, he said at a hearing Tuesday.

Worcester Telegram: In the small, northern Vermont town of Franklin, the annual Town Meeting starts with the banging of the gavel, the Pledge of the Allegiance and a prayer, delivered by a local pastor. But one woman has objected to the last custom for the last eight years.

AL.com: An organization that advocates the separation of church and state is challenging the Huntsville City Council’s long-standing tradition of opening meetings with a prayer.

Fox News: A Franklin woman is asking a Vermont judge to block a prayer that is used as part of the opening ceremonies on Town Meeting Day.

Religion Clause Blog: In Atheists of Florida, Inc. v. City of Lakeland, Florida, (MD FL, Feb 22, 2012), a Florida federal district court rejected challenges to the invocation policy of the Lakeland City Commission.

Tampa Tribune: Inside Freedom High School’s gymnasium, heads are bowed in prayer at a club meeting where students talk openly about their religious beliefs.

Charlotte Observer: Rowan County commissioners opened their meeting Monday night with a prayer invoking Jesus, defying a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the practice.

The Christian Institute: The Government has written to all local councils in England, telling them that new laws restore their power to hold prayers at official meetings.

WPRI.com (includes video): Cranston Mayor Allan Fung tells Eyewitness News that school and city officials will meet next week to discuss the ACLU’s request for $173,000 in legal fees related to the prayer banner lawsuit. Until then, the mayor says, the banner will remain intact.

Orlando Sentinel: A school prayer bill is headed to a final vote in the Florida House, after a panel of lawmakers signed off on the measure Wednesday morning.

Human Rights Campaign Blog: ADF President Alan Sears has declared this upcoming Sunday “National Pray for Marriage Day.”

The Florida Independent: “The Florida Family Policy Council, one of the most influential anti-gay rights and anti-abortion groups in the state, is joining the chorus of opposition to a school prayer bill quickly making its way through the Florida Legislature.”

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/21/3032520/rowan-commissioners-ignore-aclu.html

KYTX CBS 19 Tyler: Pastor Stephan Broden from the Fairpark Bible Fellowship in Dallas says, “I think we’re witnessing a titanic clash of two world views in our culture today. There’s the Christian world view and then the secular world view. This nation was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles.”

Fox News: The American Humanist Association, a national atheist organization, says that Jessica Ahlquist, 16, of Cranston High School West, stood up for her beliefs despite critics . . .

FOX Charlotte: In a letter to commissioners this week, the ACLU legal director writes, “These legislative prayers are explicitly sectarian and favor only one religion, Christianity.” It goes on to read, “…We have received more complaints about sectarian legislative prayer by the rowan county board of commissioners than any other local government in North Carolina…”

Christian Post: No court should presume to redefine marriage,” says ADF Senior Counsel Brian Raum, “or undercut the democratic process by taking the power to preserve marriage out of the hands of the people. Americans overwhelmingly reject the idea of changing the definition of marriage. Sixty-three million Americans in 31 state elections have voted on marriage, and 63 percent voted to preserve marriage as the timeless, universal, unique union between husband and wife.”

The Christian Institute: Bideford Town Council, the Devonshire Council which last week was banned from having prayers as part of its formal meetings, has voted to appeal the decision.

OneNewsNow.com: A Rhode Island public school district committee has voted not to appeal a federal court decision ordering the removal of a prayer banner displayed in a high school auditorium.

ABP: The same month the high court refused to hear an appeal from the Forsyth County, North Carolina, board of commissioners of a lower court’s ruling to end deity-specific, sectarian-oriented prayers at meetings. The case stemmed from a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. While ministers of all faiths were encouraged to volunteer for the occasion, the Christian majority dominated, often ending prayers in “Jesus’ name.” ACLU lawyers said that showed government favoritism toward one religion over others. Opponents, represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, called the lawsuit a denial of religious liberty to those who pray from their specific traditions.

OneNewsNow.com: Town hall prayers have been banned in Britain, according to a report from a Christian organization that considers the court ruling an assault on the country’s heritage.

Yeovil Express: THE future of the opening prayer at Ilminster Town Council meetings is under review.

The Cheraw Chronicle: The invocation was missing from the agenda this month as members of the Chesterfield County School Board met at Chesterfield-Ruby Middle School Monday afternoon. The absence of prayer from these public meetings reflects changes in religious practices the Chesterfield County school system is obligated to maintain, by Constitutional law and a court order.

Salisbury News: For years meetings of the Rowan County Board of Commissioners have opened with prayer, and more often than not, that prayer was offered “in the name of Jesus,” but citing complaints over a number of years, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has asked commissioners to stop using prayer to open meetings.

Norwich Evening News: Norfolk County Council has pledged to keep holding prayers before its full council meetings, despite a High Court ruling which threatened the tradition.

The Tennessean: State Rep. Phillip Johnson has introduced legislation that would allow school employees to participate in student-led religious gatherings that are held before and after school . . . The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, notified the school district in October that Sycamore High School teacher Gwen White Owl had the constitutional right to participate at the Fields of Faith event, which was sponsored by the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes and held after-school hours.

WTOP.com: The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia revealed Barbara Hudson’s identity in a letter sent to U.S. District Court Clerk Julia C. Dudley. ACLU-Virginia sued the board on Hudson’s behalf last September.

The Christian Institute: Government minister, Eric Pickles, has vowed to overturn a judge’s ban on formal council prayers – within a week if possible. The backlash follows a “ludicrous” case brought by the National Secular Society against a small Devonshire town council.

Green Bay Press Gazette: he group that sued the U.S. Forest Service over a statue of Jesus Christ says the Brown County Board should stop saying prayers before its monthly meetings.

Gaston Gazette: In a letter to State Attorney General Roy Cooper last week, ACLU leaders said the organization was echoing residents’ concerns that the prayers recited before the General Assembly overtly favored Christianity.

The Christian Institute: The saying of prayers as a ‘formal’ part of local council meetings has been ruled unlawful by the High Court today in an extraordinary judgment. The judge, Mr Justice Ouseley, said there is no law that gives councils the power to do so. But critics hit back, saying the ruling also means a council has no power to formally start its meetings with the national anthem.

WorldNetDaily: Texas pastors who listened to GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Rick Santorum talk about the life and liberty goals of his campaign before ending the meeting gathered around him, placed their hands on his shoulders and prayed for God’s direction in his work.

BBC News: A High Court ruling that a Devon town council acted unlawfully by allowing prayers to be said before meetings has sparked a mixed reaction.

Houston Chronicle: Settling a controversial prayer lawsuit, the Medina Valley Independent School District has agreed that its teachers, administrators and other employees will not pray with students, elicit prayer, proselytize, or display religious artifacts.

Stratford Gazette: Perth County has dropped the long-standing tradition of reciting the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of council meetings.

Fox News: A Rhode Island town is bracing for a potentially “boisterous” public hearing next week where officials will vote on whether to fight a court order to take down a prayer banner that has hung for decades in a high school.

Sacramento Bee: U.S. District Judge Fred Biery on Thursday admonished those who “demagogued this case for their own political goals.” He then added, “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

GoDanRiver.com: A federal judge has given the Pittsylvania County woman behind the ACLU’s lawsuit against the board of supervisors 30 days to reveal her name.

Havelock News: “It’s amazing to me that by virtue of being elected to this office, my speech is being restricted,” Commissioner Jeff Taylor said.

Altavista Journal: A federal judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction barring the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors from opening meetings with Christian prayers pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

JournalNow.com: Although the Alliance Defense Fund is also offering to defend its revised policy if challenged in court, there were no takers on the county board on Thursday. Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt said she was against telling anyone how to pray: “I could never invite anyone here to pray, and meet them at the door and tell them how to pray,” she said. “That is insulting.” | Also reported at: MyFox8.com

Palm Beach Post: After a heartfelt debate from both sides, the Florida Senate approved a measure authorizing student-led prayers at schools as long as adults are not involved.

The Daily Times: A week after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Indian River School District’s appeal of a ban on prayer at school board meetings, a small group of Sussex County residents continued delivering Christian prayers on behalf of the district.

GoLocalProv.com: Following up a federal court’s decision earlier this month finding unconstitutional the display of a prayer mural in Cranston High School West’s auditorium, Rhode Island ACLU attorneys have today asked the court to award $173,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs for their successful work on the case . . .

Freedom From Religion Foundation: The Freedom From Religion Foundation has sent a cautionary letter to President Barack Obama asking him to once again disassociate the Oval Office from the so-called annual “National Prayer Breakfast” taking place on Thursday, Feb. 2. Obama is scheduled to once again participate.

OneNewsNow.com: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) teamed up with the liberal veterans group VoteVets.org and with anti-Christian crusader Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to petition West Point to disinvite Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (USA-Ret.) from the February 8 event.