The Freedom from Religion Foundation has sent a legal demand to the Tehachapi City Council in order to stop religious invocations prior to Council meetings.
According to the article in the Tehachapi News, the letter dated September 1st also contains the complete transcriptions of every invocation said at the meetings since March 2nd.
According to the article, these invocations began in March 2009 after Linda Vernon became Mayor of Tehachapi. Although Councilman Stan Beckham has expressed concern that the City Council was in danger of a legal challenge, the other Council members expressed support for the invocations.
City attorney Tom Schroeter said at the Aug. 17 meeting that the city is within legal parameters and “the rules are fairly clear.”
“It has to be a nondenominational prayer,” Schroeter said. “It can’t invoke a particular prophet or founder of a particular religion.”
He said the city invites clergy to offer the invocations and the city does not give directions or tell them what to say.
It will be interesting to see what happens in Tehachapi.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation has been busy in the Valley lately. It had some success in its efforts to to get the Lodi City Council to remove references to Christ from that city’s invocations. According to Lodi News, the Lodi City Council is working to comply and will most likely dodge a lawsuit if it continues.
The actions of the FFRF in Lodi has spawned a community of secular and secular-friendly individuals to come together in order to support First Amendment rights in Lodi. This organization, called “Lodi United” has had broad support of secular and skeptical groups in the Valley. The Stanislaus Skeptics rallied with Lodi United at a recent demonstration.
A similar FFRF action is targeting the city of Turlock California. So far, Turlock is resisting change to its invocations. According to a Modesto Bee article, Turlock Councilman Kurt Spycher issued a statement responding to the FFRF that said:
It is my belief that legislative prayer is a cherished and lawful American tradition,” he said, pointing out that several government policies have religious ties, from the observance of a Christmas holiday to military chaplains to the president’s declaration of a National Day of Prayer.
There are other cities in the San Joaquin Valley that blur the barrier between Church and State. If you live in one of those cities and would like help, you may ask the FFRF to look into it for you. You can find contact information for the FFRF here.
