Monday's Internet Edition, October 06, 2008.
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The Rev. Phillip Squire of Clemmons says the prayers can meet the guidelines of recent Supreme Court rulings, but it takes some ecumenical understanding which some people will find objectionable.
The ACLU has sent a letter cautioning the Clemmons council about prayers that cross the line of religion.
The council has not yet responded.
Ministers have sometimes closed their prayers with the familiar Christian words, “In Jesus name, Amen.”
Evoking a peculiar religious tradition is the problem.
Squire said the terms “Jesus,” “Allah,” “Jehovah,” “Yahweh,” and even “Great Spirit” could be cited as evoking the belief of a certain faith. Anything that strays far from “God” gets on thin ACLU ice.
Squire, an ordained Lutheran, said the Christian theology of the Holy Trinity allows him to say “God” and still mean Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
“You can pray in the name of God and still mean Jesus,” he said. “It’s three in one and one in three. God is the name of that supreme being. I’m sure somebody is going to be offended. They shouldn’t be. God is the over-arching name.”
But that is the dance on egg shells that public prayers face these days... Subscribe to the Clemmons Courier, P.O. Box 765, Clemmons, NC 27012.