Subject: Meeting prayer.

I am thrilled that you intend

to start your council meetings with a prayer. This time-honored practice

reminds us all of our place in the universe. Thank you.

Having said that, I wish to

bring to your attention some information that might impact how you implement

this new practice as the legal community has been through this many, many

times.

The following excerpt is from

an ACLU press release.

"Although the Establishment

Clause generally bars government from engaging in official religious observance,

the United States Supreme Court has recognized a narrow exception to this

rule for prayers offered at the commencement of legislative sessions.

Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983). To be permissible under this narrow

exception, however, legislative prayers must be nonsectarian. As the Court

noted in County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 492 U.S. 573, 603 (1989), "however

history may affect the constitutionality of nonsectarian references to

religion by the government, history cannot legitimate practices that demonstrate

the government's allegiance to a particular sect or creed." The Court

in Allegheny carefully distinguished between nonsectarian prayers, which

did not align government with any one particular religion or creed, and

sectarian prayers, such as those that refer to Jesus Christ ...."

Folks, please keep your prayers

nonsectarian.

Many of you do not like my

politics. Too bad. I am a citizen of Peachtree City. I am a citizen of

Fayette County. I am a citizen of Georgia and a citizen of the United

States of America. I am also a Jew. I attend council meetings as a citizen

and as a member of the press. I am not the only non-christian [sic] who

attends your meetings.

I applaud your intent. Now

please comply with the law.

The following link directs

you to the ACLU press release from June 2000. Please review it before

implementing your practice: https://www.aclu.org/news/2000/n062900c.html.

Thank you for your commitment.

Gary Rower

Peachtree City

Back

to the Opinion Home Page | Back

to the top of the page