A Cabarrus County school board meeting in North Carolina went south when a newly-elected Christian board member asked to have the board say an invocation before meetings since it is a “time-honored Tradition of our country.” Melanie Freeman ran as a Christian.
Another Board member, Pamela Escobar went bonkers hearing of an invocation.
“So this to me is very disturbing, because I think it sends the wrong message that we’re trying to communicate,” she said. “And frankly, we are not in the business of faith or religion!
Praying is the opposite of teaching and inspiring.
“That’s not what we do. We teach. We empower, we inspire. And so, to do something that would be the opposite of that is disheartening.”
“On top of it, this board prays. This board prays before every meeting if you choose to be part of it,” she said, citing a prayer group before meetings.
“How much prayer do you need? How much God do you need?” Escobar said. “This is exclusionary.
“[School employees] come here to work. To dedicate their lives to children. They didn’t come here to pray with you,” she continued.
“If you want to pray with them, take them to church. You want to be evangelical and do that? Go for it. But not on my time, not on their time and not on this community’s time. We’re not in this business. This is not the time or the place. We’re better than that.”
“I don’t need to participate in that, and I don’t think you need to make the entire school board join you in your prayer. And if you do, then you have to be prepared for people to sue us because they have the right to religious freedom,” she said.
“I don’t know why you need prayer to take this job seriously.”
Escobar told the board the prayer would take time away from “serious issues” and would make people feel unwelcome.
I’m sure she can sit it out, and so can the audience of heathens they apparently want to welcome (just kidding).
The motion passed 5-2 to draft a written policy regarding the invocation and then invite public comment.
It seems to me that the USA did a lot better when we prayed. The invocation is going to be neutral.
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She sounds demented. Vote these nuts out of power at every level.
Christians should actually be AGAINST prayer in school and public places…it opens them up to being led in prayer by Muslims and other pagan gods, which Christians are forbidden by Scripture to participate in. Public prayer is a farce anyway. If you aren’t sincere, but praying as a “performance,” you are an offense to God. As a Christian in what has become a pagan society, I say no prayer is better than fake prayer or worse, praying to demons.
I AGREE WITH “NO PRAYER” in public forums, especially none in schools except in clubs where the religion is defined. I am a Christian and a long time Bible teacher. I am also a critical thinker when it comes to long-term implications and consequences of actions, which is why I am 100% AGAINST prayer by people in public situations. In our society of rapidly growing Muslims, this opens a can of worms for the leaders praying to Allah. No thank you.
I do NOT want my grandchildren following along with a Muslim praying to Allah. I don’t want the idea instilled in their heads that God is some “everything” and reducing the God of Scripture to “any old what’s his name deity.” Prayer in public worked when America was 99.999 Christian. That time has passed. So NO…prayer to a pagan or imaginary God is far worse than no prayer at all. Teach your children at home!
Is she jewish?
The lady demanded that prayer be banned primarily because she would be offended. What makes her so special? People can be offended by all sorts of speech; but that doesn’t mean that any such speech should be banned because some find it offensive. The First Amendment guarantees free speech to all and all of us are called to honor that guarantee.