Commissioner stands up to ACLU’s concerns about prayer

Local News

November 28, 2009

Ronica Shannon The Richmond Register Sat Nov 28, 2009, 04:10 PM EST

City commissioner and Richmond pastor Robert Blythe said Tuesday he would not sit quietly in the wake of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky’s request to stop invocations from being given before the start of each regular commission meeting.

Blythe was showered with applause after reading a written statement in response to the ACLU’s August letter to Richmond city commissioners.

“I want to pick up the ball that we dropped concerning the issue of whether and how to include an invocation or prayer in our commission meetings,” Blythe said.

The ACLU’s letter was circulated in September during a special-called commission meeting.

“While the ACLU of Kentucky strongly supports the rights of individuals to freely exercise their chosen religion, we also believe that government officials — when acting in their official capacities — are required to observe constitutional limitations upon their ability to engage in behavior that has the purpose or effect of endorsing religion,” the letter reads.

The first reference the organization used to support its claim is the First Amendment that reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

The organization calls the commission’s prayer “governmental speech” based on four reasons: The prayer is occurring at the commission’s meetings; it occurs after the meeting is called to order and is routinely on the agenda; there is control over the prayer because it is given by a commission member; and the commissioners sponsor the speech and are therefore responsible as a whole.

No invocations have been given since the commission received the ACLU letter, aside from an inspirational poem read by Commissioner Rita Smart a few months ago.

Recognizing there is a higher power, “ … and the spiritual search for that something or someone is a part of our very being,” Blythe said. “Therefore, I want to offer a motion that we allow the city manager and city attorney (create) an order for our next (commission) meeting that will place an invocation on all subsequent agendas for our meeting.”

Blythe’s motion included the stipulation that a request for invocation volunteers be advertised along with the date and time of all regular and special-called commission meetings.

“This makes the matter inclusive of this entire community and respects the rights and wishes of people of faith, whatever that faith may or may not be,” Blythe said. “It has never been my wish or practice to exclude others whose expression of faith or spirituality is different from mine. I am, however, who I am.”

If no one volunteers to give the invocation before a commission meeting, Blythe also wants the order to allow himself or fellow commissioners to perform the invocation.

“It is wrong of us not to provide some discretion of spirituality in our meetings,” he said. “We did not get here on our own. It (having an invocation) is done at a state level, it is done at the federal level and I feel we should resume doing it here.”

Commissioner Bill Strong said he would be honored to second Blythe’s motion that the invocation — including requests for volunteers to deliver the invocation — be added to the agenda for the next meeting.

The motion passed unanimously.

The commission is scheduled to meet again at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 8.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.

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