To The Editor:
This is an open letter to Franklin County Presiding Commissioner Griesheimer:
In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “The clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect a wall of separation between church and state.”
Mr. Griesheimer, $250,000 (potentially) to fight lawsuits, is not acceptable to me as a taxpayer. My children attend South Point Elementary School and don’t have their own science books to study from.
Teachers in the high school teach off of carts and in closets due to lack of space, hardly ideal circumstances.
You want to spend our taxpayer dollars on fighting an unconstitutional battle to appease your arrogance that everyone should hear a prayer before your official meetings?
Would Jesus put a court battle before the needs of the children? Would He approve dividing the community? This does not sound like the Jesus I know of.
May I point you to Matthew 6: 5-6.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
What gives you the audacity, to hold any type of prayer in a government meeting? I’m trying to explain this to my children, the oldest of whom I’d like to bring to one of your meetings to see our “government” in action.
She learned about government in school this year, yet can’t figure out why you are doing this. I wish I had words to explain it to her. Maybe you can explain it better to an 11-year-old?
Please let us know who is to blame here. Did you make this unilateral decision, Mr. Griesheimer, or was there a vote? Shame on everyone involved.
Your actions are to build your ego, and falsely let yourself believe you heroically fought a fight against the nonreligious. But this is not a fight against the nonreligious.
This is disparaging those of us intelligent enough to understand that our government and our God are separate. And when those two are mixed, you will end up with a theocracy which is exactly why our Founding Fathers fled and then founded our great nation.
You may pray at anytime in your personal life. If you feel the need to bring it to public government meetings, we ask that you step down as commissioner, to give yourself ample time to pray all you need to in church, your car, on a walk, in your home, before you eat, anytime you choose, just not while you are acting as a government leader.
