County attorney recommends NK revised prayer practice

Last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision aimed at local governing bodies’ practice of opening public meetings with prayer is prompting New Kent’s county attorney to recommend that the county’s Board of Supervisors revamp its prayer practice.

New Kent supervisors have a long held tradition of opening their public meetings with Christian prayer. Those prayers apparently fit within the court’s ruling that such prayers do not violate the First Amendment as long as there is neither aspersions cast on non-Christians nor attempts at religious conversion.

But in a two-page memo to supervisors and other county officials on June 3, county attorney Michele Gowdy warns that certain aspects of the board’s ongoing practice could run afoul of the Supreme Court’s decision. At New Kent supervisors’ meetings, people are asked to stand for the opening prayer, which is led by a board member, and told to remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Gowdy writes that the court decided that opening government meetings with prayer is permissible provided “it does not coerce participation from the public.” New Kent supervisors’ current practice of saying, “Let us pray,” and directing those words toward the people in the audience “is a problem under this opinion,” she says. She also adds that asking those in attendance to stand for prayer is inappropriate.

“Legislative prayer is permissible in part because it is for the benefit of legislators and not for the benefit of, or to coerce, the public,” she writes.

In her memo, Gowdy includes examples of governing body responses elsewhere in the state. In York County, the board and audience remain seated for the opening prayer but stand to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Chesterfield County, she says, is being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union on that county’s policy of allowing only “ordained religious leaders of monotheistic religions” to conduct invocations. New Kent, however, does not utilize outside guests as prayer leaders, and the county has no policy on prayer.

“In addition, the ACLU indicated that the preferable practice is to have a moment of silence at every meeting allowing each person to pray in the manner that they please,” she adds.

Gowdy recommends that supervisors revisit the county’s prayer practice and adopt a measure that complies with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which she deems “very fact-specific.” The 5-4 decision on May 5 stems from 2008 when two residents of Greece, N.Y. sued the town’s council over its prayer policy.

The court’s ruling and Gowdy’s advice could also affect New Kent’s Planning Commission. Back in 2012 and in reaction to a lower federal court decision ruling public meeting prayer favoring one religion as unconstitutional, the commission abandoned its practice of opening public meetings with prayer, opting instead for a moment of silence.

The move ignited a firestorm of protest from a number of county residents as well as some on the commission. That January, however, members voted 5-4 to defeat a motion to retain prayer followed by a 6-3 vote to add moment of silence to the group’s by-laws.

Now, the door appears to be open for the commission to return to prayer, but along guidelines set forth in the Supreme Court decision. The commission, however, has canceled its June meeting, thus the earliest any action could take place would be in July. In a phone interview, Gowdy said there has been no legal challenges or complaints raised over New Kent’s prayer practice.

At the board’s Monday meeting, no directive of “let us pray” or “please stand” was made by vice-chairman Thomas Tiller, a line normally said during opening invocation.