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Burke public boards: no prayer policies

By Julie N. Chang | The News Herald

Published: November 22, 2009

MORGANTON - Earlier this month, Federal Magistrate Trevor Sharp recommended that the use of prayer to open the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners meetings violates the First Amendment. Sharp noted that the prayers frequently referred to Jesus or Jesus Christ, "display(ing) a preference for Christianity over other religions by the government."
The recommendation carries no legal weight, other than to offer guidance to the federal judge who will make the final ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed the lawsuit two years ago on behalf of two Forsyth County residents.
Prayer isn't a stranger to public boards in Burke County. The Burke County Board of Commissioners, Burke County Board of Education and Morganton City Council open their meetings with prayer.
None of the boards have official policies for prayers or for selecting who gives prayers, but officials cited tradition as the guideline.
City of Morganton attorney Steve Settlemyre said there have not been any guidelines for the 31 years he's worked as the city attorney.
Using a bit of hyperbole, Settlemyre said, "To my knowledge we have opened the city council meeting with prayer since the beginning of time."
Settlemyre said the past several years Morganton Department of Public Safety chaplain Sheldon Stephenson has delivered the prayer at city council meetings. When he's not available, Settlemyre performs the duties.
Stephenson is not performing in an official capacity, Settlemyre said. Before he took over the duties, the city clerk would call ministers in town and ask them to open meetings.
But it would take from eight to 10 phone calls before the clerk could find an available minister, Settlemyre said.
Both the Board of Education and Board of Commissioners use a rotation of ministers from the community at their meetings.
Burke County attorney Redmon Dill said, "We have always asked for a voluntary prayer to start the meeting…We are not forcing anybody to do anything."
Board of Education attorney Jon Jones said, "Historically we have invited ministers from the community and have had every variety of ministers in our community."
Jones said unless there is obvious inappropriateness, an unwritten policy works fine for "situations like this."
But a written policy is possible, Jones said, in order establish that the prayer is open to a variety of religious groups.
Settlemyre said an official policy could tread upon the freedom of ministers, if public boards set guidelines on what ministers can or cannot pray about.
"The (Forsyth County case) does not answer the entire debate because the next debate that's going to take place is, 'If you ask someone to pray, can you tell them what to pray?'" Settlemyre said.
Settlemyre said he and Stephenson give general prayers at the meetings, and do not mention Jesus or specific religious figures.
"Ministers, like everybody else, they read the newspapers and they know what's going to create a problem and what's not going to create a problem," Settlemyre said. "That's especially true in Morganton because we have a Jewish mayor. The ministers of the major churches here in Morganton would be mindful of that fact."
Dill said, "I think anybody has that right (to pray) at any public meeting. If the board wants to have a voluntary prayer, I don't see any problem with that."