|
City Council member Hashmel Turner, |
The only clergyman on the Fredericksburg City Council will stop giving an opening prayer at meetings.
Hashmel Turner, pastor of a Baptist church, said he made his decision after a complaint was made last month by the American Civil Liberties Union.
It was his reference to "Jesus Christ" in the prayer that got him into trouble.
"They said my prayer could be taken in offense and, essentially, as an elected official I should know better," said Turner, an associate minister with the First Baptist Church of Love in Sylvania Heights.
As a result, Turner removed his name from an informal prayer list rotated among council members.
"I pray from the heart, and for me that means praying in the name of Christ," said Turner, who represents Ward 4 in the city.
"I'm not willing to compromise my faith cause someone was offended."
The prayer issue began last summer when Turner got an e-mail from a constituent complaining about the prayers.
Turner said he took his name off the list then, but was encouraged earlier this year to get back into the prayer rotation.
He agreed, albeit reluctantly, he said, and opened the July 22 meeting with a prayer that mentioned Christ.
That's when the letter was sent from the ACLU.
Ironically, the letter's author, Kent Willis, Virginia director of the ACLU, is a Fredericksburg resident who said he voted for Turner in the last election.
Willis said such prayers at public meetings are not uncommon.
"I'd say about half the elected bodies in Virginia probably open with an invocation, and many of them use sectarian prayers," Willis said.
And this can be particularly true of elected officials who are religious leaders.
"They are by their occupation inclined to render sectarian prayers," he said. "This has happened over and over during the last 15 years."
But, Willis said, "It's one of those issues where there is no ambiguity."
What many people may not know, however, is that prayer, in and of itself, is not verboten in public settings.
According to a 1983 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, prayers are OK as long as they are nonsectarian, meaning not affiliated with one specific faith or belief.
Willis said the state ACLU has never filed a lawsuit over such a violation, however.
"When it gets back to the city council or the legislative body that this is [illegal], they often retract them," he said.
The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors opens its meetings with a prayer by Supervisor Emmitt Marshall, the senior member of the board.
In Caroline County, the board chairman usually leads the prayer, and Stafford County supervisors, like members of the city council, rotate offering the prayer among themselves.
In King George County, the board chairman usually asks a fellow supervisor or county employee to lead the invocation.
Opening invocations also don't have to take the form of prayers.
For example, in the city, some council members have opened meetings by quoting Abraham Lincoln. At another time, the Serenity Prayer used by Alcoholics Anonymous was recited.
"The idea is to solemnize the session," Willis said.
From now on, the opening invocation in Fredericksburg will rotate among the other council members.
"It's a very serious issue and we need to be respectful of everyone's feelings," Mayor Bill Beck said. "We need to be respectful of the laws of our nation, and also the feelings of all the members of the council and the community."
Turner agrees.
"I think a lot of this centers around rights and I feel my rights have been violated, too," Turner said. "But I pray to God, not to man, and that's why I asked that my name be taken off the list."
