Brunswick Commissioners Vote To Pray

Story

Brunswick Commissioners Vote To Pray

Special Report - April 22, 2010
The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on April 19 to continue to open their meetings with a prayer, rather than changing the policy to open meetings with a moment of silence. The agenda for the April 19 meeting indicated that the meeting would start with a “Moment of Silence,” in lieu of the traditional “Invocation.” According to the meeting packet, the Agenda Meeting on April 13 included a staff discussion resulting in a “consensus to add a Moment of Silence before the Pledge of Allegiance.” However, “no action was taken.” According to the Wilmington Star News, Commissioner Scott Phillips made a motion at the April 19 meeting to change the agenda to begin with an invocation rather than a moment of silence. Commissioner Charles Warren was the lone dissenting vote to approve the restoration of prayer at the beginning of Board meetings.

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners is appealing a federal district judge’s ruling that declared their public prayer policy to be unconstitutional. The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is defending the County in the case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of North Carolina on behalf of two Winston-Salem residents, who objected to the policy, which allows various clergy members from the community to pray to specific deities, including “in the name of Jesus,” prior to commission meetings. You can read more in our previous story on the issue.