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Monday, May 12, 2014

LEGISLATIVE PRAYER

Tradition should be rich in diversity

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I’ve been attending meetings of public bodies for nearly 15 years and the overwhelming majority of those meetings are opened with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Last Monday’s Supreme Court decision concerning the prayers given at the opening of town board meetings in Greece, N.Y., ensures – at least for the foreseeable future, that those local opening prayers are likely to continue. But that isn’t all the Court’s opinion provided; it’s worth a read if only for the history of legislative prayer.

Justice Anthony Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court: “The town of Greece does not violate the First Amendment by opening its meetings with prayer that comports with our tradition and does not coerce participation by nonadherents.”

Kennedy said the residents who sued the town of Greece attempted to distinguish between the legislative prayer offered by such as Congress or state legislatures and the smaller setting or a town meeting where attendees may be more involved in a such a meeting.

But Kennedy responds while prayers offered to Congress, “may vary in their degree of religiosity, they often seek peace for the Nation, wisdom for its lawmakers, and justice for the people, values that count as universal and that are embodied not only in religious traditions, but in our founding documents and laws.

The first prayer delivered to the Continental Congress by the Rev. Jacob Duché on September 7, 1774, provides an example: “Be Thou present O God of Wisdom and direct the counsel of this Honorable Assembly; enable them to settle all things on the best and surest foundations; that the scene of blood may be speedily closed, that Order, Harmony, and Peace be effectually restored, and the Truth and Justice, Religion and Piety, prevail and flourish among the people.” (W. Federer, America’s God and Country) There’s more, but this prayer is not unlike many offered by town councils and county or parish boards all over our country, though two centuries have passed between the recitations. Importantly, if this prayer passed muster with the Framers and drafters of the Establishment Clause, it is our responsibility to value and maintain this enduring practice and tradition.

“To be sure, many members of the public find these prayers meaningful and wish to join them. But their purpose is largely to accommodate the spiritual needs of lawmakers and connect them to a tradition dating to the time of the Framers. For members of town boards and commissions, who often serve part-time and as volunteers, ceremonial prayer may also reflect the value they hold as private citizens. The prayer is any opportunity for them to show who and what they are without denying the right to dissent by those who disagree,” Kennedy said.

More history is offered by Justice Thomas as he recounts the convening of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774 and how it came to be that the prayer above noted was offered and its effect of uniting those in attendance.

Legislative prayer, at whatever level of government in America, has a rich tradition and history and properly delivered should offend no one. While recognizing the diversity of our country, we should take care to safeguard this practice.

Most might agree that our leaders at all levels of government need all the help they can get.

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