Afton council rejects scheduled prayers at meetings

AFTON - A request to introduce a policy allowing for religious prayer during city council meetings was offered during Tuesday’s regular meeting.

Afton City Council chose not to adopt a policy after a 4-1 vote, but only so after a discussion of what free speech and religious prayer looks like in a context of a city council meeting.

Afton Assembly of God Lead Pastor William Richardson presented the concept of a prayer to the board. He made clear early he did not expect every attendee of a council meeting to participate in the prayer and said a prayer could not use language which are in direct relation to an item on the meeting’s agenda.

A prayer before city council might intersect church and state, but several cities across the country choose to do so. Most policies around a prayer revolve around the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway, which ended in 2014 by Supreme Court decision.

Greece, New York, had held a prayer during their council meetings since 1999. A few citizens, including Susan Galloway, said the prayers violated their views and filed suit against the town. The case ended in the Supreme Court, whose decision stated the prayer wasn’t violating the First Amendment.

However, restrictions on how religion should be represented in prayer were set in place by the decision. Any attempt at coercing attendees of the meeting into prayer, especially if the religion clashes with their own religious or philosophical views, would not fall under the protections offered by the First Amendment.

Richardson described the prayer which could be outlined in policy as “simply, a request for divine guidance for the best decisions to be made.”

In support of the idea, Richardson had contacted the Iowa League of Cities, who said about 10% of Iowa cities have a prayer during their council meetings.

Councilmember Sheryl Parham was supportive of the idea, saying the opportunity of prayer would allow members of Afton to actively participate in a council meeting. The clergy of churches within Afton, she argued, are respected members of the community and would prove to be strong leaders and representative of the people the council serves.

Three churches are in Afton, the Assembly of God Church, the St. Edward Catholic Church, and the United Methodist Church.

A rotation of clergy who would perform the prayer was offered, allowing for the leaders of these churches to equally share their time with the city. Discussion was held over if the three churches were truly representative of the entire population of Afton, as there was confirmation of Jewish and Amish community members.

Another leader of the Afton churches who attended the meeting was United Methodist Church Pastor Sheila Sutton, who helped give advice during the discussion. Sutton explained how the opportunity for leading the prayer would be required to be open to all faiths.

What turned the discussion sour was over the restrictions set by the Supreme Court’s precedent which could backfire on the city if it were mismanaged. Sutton said the policy could be a “can of worms,” if done poorly, a metaphor the majority of the council agreed with.

Afton Mayor Michelle Burger, despite believing in faith, was worried. “I think it’s great to involve [members of the community,] but then again, my gut feeling is no because I’m leary of what we’re opening ourselves up to.”

The council created a hypothetical policy where those of any faith could volunteer to lead the prayer. The council could not search for candidates for the prayer, as it could show a bias toward a certain faith by the city. Malicious disruptions stemming from the open prayer were the council’s biggest concern.

An alternative form of prayer proposed would be a moment of silence, which would be a self-led prayer without any religious leader presiding.

Councilmember Steve Kinyon was critical of the prayer. “I believe in God, I believe in Jesus Christ to come and save me, because I’m right with God,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean that I expect every other religion to come and tell me something.”

Parham said, of the council’s potential decision on the policy, said the council shouldn’t make decisions based on worst-case scenarios, focusing on the success in other cities. Parham would be the only councilmember to vote in favor of the policy.