Council's prayers before meetings will be examined
CHRISTIAN prayers at the start of council meetings in Gloucestershire could be under threat.
Gloucestershire County Council has promised to research how other authorities "present" their religious overtones following an inquiry by a councillor.
Councillor Sarah Lunnon (G, Stroud East) prompted the investigation by questioning whether the council's Protestant prayer was appropriate for all beliefs.
She said: "I would like to know what is the correct procedure for members of the public, officers and councillors who have faith or beliefs which are either not met or contradicted by council prayers."
Shire Hall, like the vast majority of local authorities across the country, includes a short prayer at the beginning of official council meetings.
The authority prides itself on its equalities policy and was the first county council in the country to achieve level four of the official Equalities Standard for Local Government in 2009.
Councillor Gordon Shurmer, chairman of the council, defended the current practice, but promised to look into the alternatives.
He said: "The Church of England is the established religion of the United Kingdom and the current council prayer has been the traditional Gloucestershire County Council prayer in recent years.
"However, given the continuing concern that the member has, I will request that enquiries are made with other shire councils to see how they present their council prayer."
2 Comments
by John Rawson, Cheltenham
Saturday, November 27 2010, 3:23PM
“Cllr Lunnon's complaint about the prayer at the beginning of County Council meetings, and your article about it, seem strange for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the idea that this is a "Protestant" prayer (implying that it is repugnant to Catholics) is entirely without foundation. It is a general prayer appealing for God's blessing for all the people who serve the county and asking God to give the members of the Council the gifts of widom, humanity, courage and generosity of spirit.
These are sentiments that would be equally acceptable to Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and to any other faith that believes in one benevolent God.
The only thing that marks the prayer out as a specifically Christian prayer is the words "through Jesus Christ our Lord" at the end. No doubt it would be perfectly easy to omit these words if they give offence to people of other faiths.
There have always been non-believers on the County Council, who have either stayed out of the chamber until after the prayer has been said, or simply ignored it. They may not believe in God, but they hardly have any reason to objects to the sentiments expressed in the prayer. Besides, it only takes 20 seconds for the chairman to read, so it is hardly a major inconvenience.
The prayer is a moment of reflection - a reminder that councillors are there to serve a higher cause, not just to knock the living daylights out of each other. What on earth is so wrong with that?”
by fed up of wasted money, Glos.
Friday, November 26 2010, 12:00PM
“and how much is this research going to cost ?”