1 day Ago By HANS BOYLE [email protected]
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A national organization that ardently supports the separation of church and state is flagging a recent move by a Sweet Home city official. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling on Mayor Susan Coleman to rescind her National Day of Prayer proclamation because it “blatantly elevates Christianity over all other religions,” according to a news release from the organization. Sweet Home Mayor Susan Coleman issued a National Day of Prayer proclamation last week.
It's drawn a rebuke from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. A “concerned Sweet Home resident” who identifies as nonreligious tipped off the foundation about the proclamation, which directly references God and the Holy Spirit, according to the release. It in fact goes further, quoting from the New Testament.
Reached by phone, Ogden said there was no council discussion when the proclamation came up on the agenda at the April 22 meeting. Sweet Home's version states: "In our city and across America the observance of the National Day of Prayer will be held on Thursday, May 1, 2025, with the theme, 'Pour Out to the God of Hope and Be Filled' based on the verse in Roman (sic) 15:13 that is both a prayer and a promise, 'Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.'” People are also reading.
.. Pac-12 should still have its sights set on UNLV Samaritan Health Services names new CEO, a name some may know As I See It: The Corvallis School District should stop the spin Transfer outlook for Oregon State as portal closes Fraudulent contractor who skipped sentencing gets prison Albany resident finds naked burglary suspect in home How one Corvallis High tennis star is finding success his own way Residents deluge Benton County with opinions about Coffin Butte Landfill Man already serving time gets more for sexually abusing sleeping woman As I See It: We're slipping into a nationwide meanness On 12-game winning streak, Oregon State is riding the momentum ahead of rivalry series with Oregon Fire expert casts doubt on Santiam Fire origin story Pro/Con: Should SNAP require only healthy purchases in Oregon? Benton County staff recommend denial of Coffin Butte Landfill expansion Corvallis becomes a transgender, intersex and gender-diverse sanctuary city The proclamation doesn't exist in a vacuum.
According to the website for the privately funded National Day of Prayer Task Force, the National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May — which falls on May 1 this year — and invites people to “pray for the nation.” The day of prayerful observance was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the U.S Congress and exists to “communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families.
” President Reagan moved the National Day of Prayer to the first Thursday of May during his tenure. Following the Sweet Home proclamation, Freedom From Religion Foundation staff attorney Samantha Lawrence sent a letter April 24 to the mayor, requesting Coleman withdraw it. “Even if the National Day of Prayer were designed to be inclusive of non-Christians, which it is not, it needlessly marginalizes and excludes citizens such as our complainant who are among the nearly 30% of adult Americans who are religiously unaffiliated, as well as the additional 6% of Americans adhering to non-Christian faiths,” Lawrence wrote.
Lawrence wrote that the Sweet Home complainant explained they are “disappointed that our city chose to use its time and power to divide people instead of bringing them together.” The foundation, a nonprofit with 42,000 members nationwide and more than 1,200 members in Oregon, according to Lawrence’s letter, has historically filed lawsuits to combat what it argues are violations of the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state. The foundation's website touts legal victories like ending "millions of tax dollars used to repair and maintain churches" and halting "federal funds to a bible school offering no academic classes.
" It's also litigated a challenge to the National Day of Prayer itself, but lost when a federal appellate court said "a feeling of alienation cannot suffice as injury in fact." In other words, the plaintiffs didn't have a sufficient injury to bring a lawsuit. When asked about the city's response to the letter, Ogden said it might be a good idea moving forward to take a look at proclamations to see how they could affect the community.
But he added that he understood Coleman had spoken with the Alliance for Defending Freedom — an opposing far-right legal advocacy organization — about OK’ing the proclamation. That organization has played a role in successful cases in front of the U.S.
Supreme Court, such as the Dobbs decision that tossed a national right of privacy with respect to abortions, the Hobby Lobby decision that ruled a birth control mandate in employee-funded health plans was unconstitutional and 303 Creative LLC , that said a state couldn't force a business owner to create expressive designs against her beliefs. The Supreme Court also has looked at whether city councils can start their meetings off with a prayer. A 2014 5-4 decision said they can, although they cannot "denigrate non-believers or religious minorities, threaten damnation, or preach conversion.
" Coleman didn’t respond to an email from Mid-Valley Media before deadline. Related stories: Can Sweet Home's new City Council work together? Shayla Escudero Sweet Home councilor left gun in City Hall bathroom Shayla Escudero Why there is an exodus of Sweet Home leaders Shayla Escudero More Sweet Home news Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Reporter Author email {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
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