Melissa Ross
He hasn’t even been sworn in yet, but incoming Jacksonville City Council President Greg Anderson is already experiencing the headaches of leadership.
Susan Aertker of Americans United for Separation of Church and State has emailed Anderson to ask him to (once again) change the rules about Council meetings and sectarian vs. inclusive prayers during the invocation.
Under outgoing City Council President Clay Yarborough, the invocation period has always been a Christian prayer. This practice has long been controversial in Jacksonville, which has Bible Belt roots but in the 21st century, has become increasingly diverse. And the matter flares up time and again -depending on who leads the Council.
Writes Aertker, “Based on Yarborough’s words in interviews and based on the fact that the two people that have given the invocation at the city council meetings since Yarborough became council president said “in Jesus’ name, we pray”, one can conclude that Yarborough will only let people (that agree to say those words) give the invocation. In my view Yarborough is proselytizing his own particular faith by requiring that “in Jesus’ name we pray” be said at council meetings. I believe that violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment and the ruling in Greece v. Galloway.”
Under former Council President Jack Webb, (and with pressure from the ACLU) the policy regarding the invocation during City Council meetings was changed, but it wasn’t binding to future council presidents.
Then as Aertker points out, “After Webb left office, Bill Bishop became Council President and appointed Yarborough as chaplain. Of course, Yarborough said “in Jesus’ name we pray” while he was chaplain. After Bishop, Bill Gulliford became Council President and he did have some diversity during the invocation period. Gulliford even had a flute player one time which perhaps represented the non-religious invocation. Yarborough became Council President after Gulliford. As Yarborough has said, he only allows people who say “in Jesus’ name we pray” to give the invocation while he has been Council President.”
In an interview he gave to the Florida Times-Union Yarborough said he believed in Christian prayer in public buildings, telling the T-U’s Mark Woods, “The scripture teaches that unless one prays in the name of Jesus Christ, and since he is our only way to the Father, that that is how one should pray. And that is what I believe.”
Aertker closes with a link to a Change.Org petition asking for a change in invocation rules.
