Public Christian Prayers Before City Council Meetings (Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach: daycare, house)

[moving123456]

I was just watching PBS and the Jacksonville City Council Meeting came on after whatever program I was previously watching. I noticed that they opened the meeting with a public Christian prayer. I know that this practice has previously been banned in some cities while upheld in others.

What is your opinion on the subject?

It is getting very close to mixing church and state in my opinion and possibly offensive to non-christians in the room or even on the city council. Would a public muslim/islamic prayer before each meeting be appropriate if one or more muslims happened to be on the council? I personally disagree with the practice, but if they really feel the need for a prayer, taking a moment at the beginning for individual silent prayers might be more appropriate in my opinion.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by moving123456

I was just watching PBS and the Jacksonville City Council Meeting came on after whatever program I was previously watching. I noticed that they opened the meeting with a public Christian prayer. I know that this practice has previously been banned in some cities while upheld in others.

are you sure it was a christian prayer? where has the practice been banned? are you aware that every session of the US Senate and House of representatives opens with a prayer?

[BlueWillowPlate]

Many, many (if not most) city council meetings begin with prayer.
The tricky part is how specific the prayer is in terms of invoking God's name.
Around here, chances are pretty good that Jesus is going to be mentioned.

Several of my fellow employees (I work an after-school daycare for kindergarten/first grade) grumbled about having school in session on Good Friday.
And I suppose they might as well have skipped it, because the public schools here at Fernandina Beach spent Good Friday giving the kids Easter eggs and candy.
And what was the homework? "Write an essay on how your family celebrates Easter."
That kind of thing never would have gone down where I come from, but it is a fairly homogeneous world in north Florida. It might be changing, but these things don't change overnight.

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by moving123456

I was just watching PBS and the Jacksonville City Council Meeting came on after whatever program I was previously watching. I noticed that they opened the meeting with a public Christian prayer. I know that this practice has previously been banned in some cities while upheld in others.

What is your opinion on the subject?

It is getting very close to mixing church and state in my opinion and possibly offensive to non-christians in the room or even on the city council. Would a public muslim/islamic prayer before each meeting be appropriate if one or more muslims happened to be on the council? I personally disagree with the practice, but if they really feel the need for a prayer, taking a moment at the beginning for individual silent prayers might be more appropriate in my opinion.

I think it is more of a traditional or ceremonial practice than a religious practice. It's funny that the same people who object to this public prayer at council meetings don't seem to have a problem with government-printed currency that says "In God We Trust".

I say let's keep the tradition going.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

Many, many (if not most) city council meetings begin with prayer.
The tricky part is how specific the prayer is in terms of invoking God's name.
Around here, chances are pretty good that Jesus is going to be mentioned.

Several of my fellow employees (I work an after-school daycare for kindergarten/first grade) grumbled about having school in session on Good Friday.
And I suppose they might as well have skipped it, because the public schools here at Fernandina Beach spent Good Friday giving the kids Easter eggs and candy.
And what was the homework? "Write an essay on how your family celebrates Easter."
That kind of thing never would have gone down where I come from, but it is a fairly homogeneous world in north Florida. It might be changing, but these things don't change overnight.

Welcome to the Bible Belt!

Moving, prepared to be shocked. What is allowed here, in City Council meetings, in the workplace, in the public schools, would not fly in other parts of the United States .

[apanda]

Originally Posted by moving123456

I personally disagree with the practice, but if they really feel the need for a prayer, taking a moment at the beginning for individual silent prayers might be more appropriate in my opinion.

I have always like the idea of silent prayers. But as Riveree points out, "Welcome to the Bible belt!"

[joninclay]

and possibly offensive to non-christians in the room

There is no constitutional right to avoid offending someone or to avoid being offended.

Would a public muslim/islamic prayer before each meeting be appropriate if one or more muslims happened to be on the council?

Speaking only for myself, I would answer that I wouldn't care if there were Muslims on the council who wanted a prayer. Fine with me.

In this country, we have freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. If you're an atheist, why would you care what god someone prayed to? I believe in the Christian God, but I have friends who are from other (and even no) religious backgrounds. I've been over to my high school friend's house for dinner, and they were Buddhist. They prayed before dinner, and I prayed to my God while they prayed to theirs. No harm, no foul.

People need to get over being so easily offended.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by joninclay

If you're an atheist, why would you care what god someone prayed to? I believe in the Christian God, but I have friends who are from other (and even no) religious backgrounds. I've been over to my high school friend's house for dinner, and they were Buddhist. They prayed before dinner, and I prayed to my God while they prayed to theirs. No harm, no foul.

People need to get over being so easily offended.

Well, if you're an atheist, you believe in the separation of church and state, so you'd probably prefer no praying at all.

But why name a god? Why not be inclusive and leave it open-ended? Why is city council exclusive by naming one particular god?

What if they started praying to Ganesha? Would anyone mind? Or would the taxpayers of Jacksonville start telling city council members to pray on their own time?

[joninclay]

you believe in the separation of church and state

There is no "separation of church and state" mentioned in the Constitution.

But why name a god? Why not be inclusive and leave it open-ended? Why is city council exclusive by naming one particular god?

I guess because (a) every one on the city council is a Christian, (b) 90+% of their constituents are Christians, so (c) there's no fallout for exercising their First Amendment right to worship freely. I ask again: if you're not a Christian, why would you care whether anyone else is or not?

What if they started praying to Ganesha?

They'd probably get voted out of office. The electoral process takes care of stuff like that. If they felt strongly enough to pray to Ganesha, they likely wouldn't care if the electorate liked it or not, and the electorate would determine if it was a big enough issue for them to worry about.

If it's OK for Congress to open with a prayer, it's OK for a city council to open with one.

[apanda]

Originally Posted by joninclay

People need to get over being so easily offended.

Yep. But it will never happen, so we will always bend over backward for one group just to offend another. What ever happened to the majority rules so everyone else just get over it?? ALSO, I have noticed that most people that complain about some of this c**p aren't even the ones who are the "offended" they are just people with too much time or just want something to b***h about! Get a life, not someone else's!!