Federal Court To Hear Arguments In Case Challenging City-Sponsored Prayer In Greece, NY

[and-justice-for-all]

http://members.au.org/site/R?i=rrcdt2EhP-QtZcIis0R4vQ..
August 12, 2009

A federal court will hear oral arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging the use of sectarian invocations before meetings of the Greece, N.Y., Town Board.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit on behalf of two town residents last year. The residents say the near-unanimous use of sectarian prayers sends a message of exclusion to non-Christians.

“This case is a good reminder of why government needs to stay out of the prayer business,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Inevitably, some people are made to feel like second-class citizens.”

The Greece Town Board has a longstanding practice of inviting clergy to open the Board’s monthly meetings with a prayer. The Town Board does not require that the prayers be inclusive and non-sectarian. As a result, over the past decade, the vast majority of the prayers have been Christian.

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Ha ha ha

I lived in Greece for six years (1998-2004). It's a suburb outside of Rochesgter NY. I lived almost right across from the Town Hall. I'm surprised they are STILL doing that. It's not like anyone ever participates in the prayer!

[BolivarianHero]

2. That area isn't overly conservative...

I mean, Monroe County voted for Tom Golisano a few years, a centrist billionaire who supported the legalization of cannabis and starting a program similar to the one that exists in Georgia (by pre-mental illness Zell Miller) to use state lottery proceeds to send all B or better students to state universities with free tuition.