The day President Barack Obama was inaugurated, Amherst County supervisors bowed their heads and prayed for the new commander-in-chief before conducting business.
As usual at Amherst Board of Supervisors meetings, the prayer ended with a mention of Jesus Christ — a ritual board members do not shy away from.
“That’s not an issue with us,” said Chris Adams, the board’s vice chairman. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s our constitutional right of freedom of religion.”
While the issue has not caused a stir in Amherst County, the government’s role in public prayers has raised controversy and public scrutiny of late in Virginia.
Last week, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill reversing an administrative order that state police chaplains offer ecumenical, non-denominational prayers at official events.
The American Civil Liberties Union has warned that it considers the bill unconstitutional and will sue if it passes.
It now heads to the Senate, where another bill takes the issue a step further, seeking to assure freedom of expression to anyone offering prayers at government-sponsored public events, including elected officials.
Several volunteers resigned from the state police chaplaincy last year when a new policy prohibited Christian prayers. The policy came after three judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Fredericksburg City Council requirement that invocations at meetings be non-denominational.
Adams and Leon Parrish, the Amherst Board of Supervisors chairman, said they were not aware of either bill or the court ruling on the Fredericksburg City Council matter. Each said the board’s practice of handling prayer has not caused any complaints to their knowledge and no one in the audience or on the board is forced to participate.
“My belief is my belief and your belief is your belief,” said Parrish, a Christian and a board member since 1993. “If you believe in the name of Jesus Christ, you should pray to that name. If you believe in the name of Buddha, you should pray to that name.”
Governing bodies throughout the area handle meeting prayers differently, from observing moments of silence to rotating prayers among elected members.
In Lynchburg, City Council members offer nondenominational invocations at the start of each regular business session. The task of leading the prayer rotates between the vice mayor and four of the five regular council members.
City Councilman Jeff Helgeson bowed out of the rotation shortly after taking office nearly five years ago, citing the ban on sectarian language. He has never given one of the meeting prayers.
“I said rather than have some ceremonial prayer to some non-existent deity, I would rather pray on my own ahead of time,” Helgeson said. “… If I’m going to give a prayer, it should be my prayer and I pray in the name of Jesus.”
Campbell County has opened meetings with an invocation or prayer, said Charles Falwell, chairman of the county’s Board of Supervisors. Whether it’s a denominational one, he said, is up to the supervisor giving it.
Some end invocations with a non-denominational statement while others end the prayer in Christ’s name.
“The facts are all the board members are Christians and we do a denominational prayer,” said Falwell. “We do not instruct individual members on what the prayer needs to be. He does the prayer the way he feels he needs to do it. (They’ve) always done it that way and always will do it that way unless it’s challenged.”
Bedford and Nelson counties observe a moment of silence at the start of regular business meetings, where members bow their heads but nothing is said out loud.
“We have not gone down the road of doing audible prayers,” said Bedford County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Sharp, “but I assure you that during that moment (of silence), I’m praying.”
Sharp said he himself wouldn’t be opposed to audible prayer.
Roger Cheek, the board vice chairman, said the moment of silence is to pacify anyone who doesn’t approve of open prayers that mention Christ. He said he would not oppose those prayers if they were said out loud.
“This nation was founded on Christianity,” Cheek said. “If we don’t bring it back, we’re going to fail … my thoughts are let them frown.”
Allen Hale of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors said he values the moment of silence because it can apply to any kind of religion and doesn’t get into the debate of which deity to focus on.
“I think it respects religious differences,” said Hale. “To me, that’s important.”
Bedford City Council does not observe a prayer or moment of silence but does, like all nearby localities, engage in the Pledge of Allegiance, which mentions the phrase “one nation under God.”
In Lynchburg, City Councilman Mike Gillette is the only non-Christian member of council. Unlike his colleagues, Gillette, who is Jewish, does not make any reference to God even in broad terms during his invocations.
Gillette said he phrases those invocations carefully and omits the name, not because of his religious beliefs, but rather from a desire to be as inclusive as possible.
“I’m very cognizant of the fact that we represent people, not only of a particular religion, but also of an atheist position,” he said. “I think that way the prayer offered is inclusive, so religious folks can feel comfortable and non-religious folks can feel comfortable. It brings people together, as opposed to a more divisive form of prayer.”
Ceasor Johnson, a Lynchburg councilman and Baptist minister, said he’s sometimes slipped while giving a council prayer and invoked the name of Jesus Christ.
“Not because I’m trying to rub anyone’s face in my religion,” he said. “It’s just who I am. That’s my faith.”
“I have my belief system, but I value other people’s belief systems, too,” he said. “That’s part of being respectful. We are elected to serve the whole city.”
Staff writers Sarah Watson and Alicia Petska contributed to this report.
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