Steve Mensing, Editor
♦Rowan County 5–Your prayers and the prayers of countless millions across North Carolina and the entire United States were heard on High. The Almighty saw fit to provide the prayer issue its rightful hearing before the United States Supreme Court. Today it was announced the United State Supreme Court will review the prayer issue. The nations highest court agreed to examine whether offering prayer prior to a town’s meeting violates the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. At issue is the town of Galloway, NY’s prayer practices prior to meetings. Greece is a suburb of Rochester, NY. The case being reviewed is Greece v. Galloway (12-696) and whether their town officials violated the First Amendment’s ban on a government’s endorsement of a particular religion when it permitted local volunteers to offer a prayer prior to the town’s monthly meetings. The challenge is that while non-Christians delivered a few prayers, the overwhelming majority of volunteers delivered pre-meeting prayers with Christian references. The prayers have been going on for over 11 years. Susan Galloway, a practicing Jew, is one of the two who objected. Arguments will be heard in the Fall.
Rowan County will likely be spared having to spend a penny on this great undertaking or field its battery of high-profile Christian attorneys as the prayer issue being heard is a pre-existing parallel case. Money was never an issue for the Rowan County 5 as an organization was in place to take in millions in donations should the need arise.
Rowan County Commissioner Jim Sides told the RFP: “This is great moment for our First Amendment rights and the forward progress for prayer at government meetings. So glad to be living in Rowan County and have our nation’s highest court to review this very important issue. Its in God’s hands now and the Supreme Court. I can’t think of two better places.”
