The Mayor of Harrisburg, PA is shocked – shocked! – to find that her practice of opening staff meetings with prayer has generated controversy and discomfort. After all, she says, none of the employees that depend on her support for their livelihoods ever complained to her or walked out of the meeting when given the option!
[Linda] Thompson said she has been starting most staff meetings with a prayer since taking office seven months ago and she's not going to stop. She says she has never received a complaint until now and that the prayers are "voluntary."
"Which is what I attempted to do by opening up, saying, 'It's voluntary and that you won't lose your job if you don't partake in it,'" Thompson said.
Not surprisingly, an employee is concerned and made uncomfortable by this practice and has anonymously complained through the ACLU, which wrote a letter to the Mayor asking her to discontinue. For her part, Thompson claims no public jobs are on the line (they had better not be!), but how difficult would it be to confront your boss over their heartfelt religious expression, or refuse to take part in your office team's meeting from start to finish? Of course, she can't fire workers for refusing to pray (which is no great humanitarian concession. Imagine the lawsuit and charge to taxpayers if she did!) but who can afford to take an adversial position with their boss these days?!
No worker should be put in that compromising situation. And absolutely no public employee should be. You don't have to be The World's Most Sensitive Boss to be able to imagine how a person of minority faith, or of no faith, or a Christian who doesn't believe government should be engaging in prayer, would be uncomfortable with: a) opening meetings with prayer, and b) complaining openly about it.
If I was a Mayor these days, would I be praying about my city and my decisions impacting its residents? You bet I would! All the time. To myself, with my family and friends and church support.
