BURLESON — Formal prayer before city council meetings is resuming at Burleson City Hall.
Mayor Ken Shetter suspended invocations before council meetings a few weeks ago. He cited a recent decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana that barred prayer before government meetings.
The court, however, agreed last month to rehear the case and could reverse its decision.
“We will go back to having prayers, which we were going to do anyway after coming up with a process for inviting everyone in our faith community to participate in the opening prayer,” Shetter said.
City Councilman Stuart Gillaspie, who previously spoke against Shetter’s move, said he was pleased with the city’s decision to restore invocations.
“I think staying the course is the right direction for us to go,” Gillaspie said. “It’s our tradition, and our fathers’ tradition, and it’s what generations before that intended.”
Gillaspie said he appreciated the concern residents showed and the “overwhelming” support he received. State Rep. Rob Orr, R-Burleson, phoned Gillaspie to voice his support for him and agreed that formal prayer should take place at the beginning of any public meeting.
“We start each morning with prayer in the state Legislature for wisdom and guidance for our leaders,” Orr said. “If it’s good enough for us at the state level, it should be good for all. Cities are a political subdivision of the state. I’d be very disappointed if our cities chose to do something different.”
In lieu of prayers spoken aloud by invited local clergy or council members in Burleson, Shetter had been asking for a moment of silence at the beginning of Burleson City Council meetings for the last two or three meetings.
The mayor said he would rather allow people to pray the way they wanted than trying to shape their prayers so as not to reflect specific religions, as the original court decision had said.
The court will rehear the matter with oral arguments scheduled to be heard the week of May 21.
According to court documents filed Feb. 9, “a member of the court in active service requested a poll on the petitions for rehearing before a full court, and a majority of the judges voted in favor of granting a rehearing.”
The plaintiffs and defendants in the Louisiana case asked for the rehearing. The plaintiff, the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the parent and schoolchildren who sued the Tangipahoa Parish School Board over the board’s invocations in October 2003, is asking for a legal standard that would bar all prayers at meetings to ensure that a school system doesn’t advance or inhibit religion, according to an article in The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La.
The school board wants a ruling that would exempt the board under the same guidelines that are reserved for Congress and state legislatures, allowing sectarian prayers as long as they don’t proselytize.
A U.S. District Court judge sided with the ACLU in February 2005, but the school board later appealed the decision to the 5th Circuit Court.
Joy E. Cressler can be reached at
817-645-2441, ext. 2329, or jcressler@trcle.com.com.
Local News
Invocations resume in Burleson
- Local News
-
-
Officials, residents remember those who gave it all
A robust breeze alleviated the heat somewhat Monday morning at Cleburne Memorial Cemetery, but also played pandemonium with the setting up of a memorial table for POW and MIA veterans. Wind tipped a vase holding a single rose shattering it on the pavement. A hastily retrieved replacement held out but at one point toppled causing water to spill inches shy of the public announcement speaker.
-
A mother’s love, one day at a time
To everyone else, it was a regular Thursday. It was almost the weekend, almost summer break, time for vacation or time with family.
-
Candidates vie for Pct. 2, 3 seats
County voters will weigh in on three Johnson County Commissioners Court seats up for election on Tuesday. In addition to the five-candidate Precinct 1 race, voters living in precincts 2 and 3 will also vote for the commissioner of their choice.
-
Primary could decide constables
Ten candidates, all Republican, compete in their four respective precincts in the May 29 primary. With no Democratic opponents to face in November’s general election, the primary should decide the winner of all but one possible race.
-
Voters urged to check for possible precinct changes
Because of redistricting as required by the 2010 Census, Johnson County experienced some changes effective Jan. 1, said Patty Bourgeois, Johnson County Elections administrator.
-
Early voting numbers well short of ’08
Early voting turnout in Johnson County’s Democratic and Republican primaries totaled 3,914 as of Friday morning. That total includes 309 votes in the Democratic Primary and 3,605 in the Republican Primary.
-
Yellow Jackets headed to finals
GRAHAM — The Wichita Falls Rider pitching staff swam with sharks for most of five innings Friday, avoiding all but a few love taps and playful nips from Cleburne batters.
-
Changes at Splash Station
Splash Station officially opens for the summer season this weekend, and those who frequented the park in years past may notice some modifications.
-
Dang Gym steps up for injured Cleburne officer
Though he remains wheelchair bound for now with braces on his neck and left leg, Cleburne police officer Aaron Beseda gave a thumbs up Wednesday at the Dang Gym in Cleburne.
-
Cowan discusses being police chief, Burleson’s crime rate
Police Chief Tom Cowan, 63, said he believes the key to developing safe neighborhoods begins with the community. It’s an idea he’s developed in his more than 40 years serving in law enforcement.
- More Local News Headlines
-
