Action Alert!
Help Educate the Mayor of Lodi, Calif.!
July 29, 2009
The debate over Christian prayers at Lodi, Calif., City Council meetings, which the Freedom From Religion Foundation has formally objected to, has intensified as fanatical Christian groups mobilize their forces. The Pray in Jesus Name Project has encouraged its constituents to bombard Lodi with letters, a petition and a massive upcoming protest. The voices of freethinkers must be heard in Lodi through all the babel of religious rhetoric!
Lodi Mayor Larry Hansen recently told the Sacramento Bee, (see story below), "I'm getting e-mails from all over, mainly from people who tell us we better not take Jesus out of the City Council meetings." Please write the Mayor now telling him you object to prayer at government meetings (contact info below). Submitting letters to the editor to local newspapers is also very important. (Note: When you write public officials, your message becomes part of the public record, so please do not say anything that might reflect poorly on FFRF.)
Additionally, freethinkers living in the Sacramento-Oakland-Lodi area are invited to counterpicket the Aug. 5 "international prayer rally," scheduled for 6PM before the Lodi City Council meeting. This rally, sponsored by the Pray in Jesus Name Project and endorsed by James Dobson's web site, is an attempt to sway the City Council members to keep prayer at Lodi government meetings. Counterprotesters need to be visible, for the press and public, to show that there is support for the constitutional principle of separation between church and state. If you can participate in this peaceful educational event, please meet with other freethinkers at:
Wed., August 5, 5:15PM
Carnegie Forum (in front of the All Veterans' Plaza)
305 W Pine St.
Lodi CA
Other members of FFRF will be there, as well as members of Atheists and Other Freethinkers of Sacramento. If possible, bring a placard or picket sign to carry. Signs should state a clear message such as "Honor the First Amendment and Matt. 6:5-6—Stop Government Prayer," and "Lodi is not a "Christian Community" (as one council member insisted). Freethinkers plan to dine together afterwards— there are several places to eat in Lodi after the event. If you are able to attend or have any questions, please contact us at bgutsch@ffrf.org. Please also take photos (high resolution digital) so Freethought Today can document this activism. Thank you!
Contact
(Note: Please remember to sign your name, address and phone number to your message. Concentrate on one or two major points, and, for maximum effectiveness, write as an individual, not as someone responding to this action alert. (Do not forward our action alert message to the target!) We are pleased to receive "blind" duplicates of your letters or responses by email: bgutsch@ffrf.org.)
Mayor Larry D. Hansen
PO Box 3006
Lodi, CA 95241-1910
Phone: (209)333-6800 Ext.9280
Fax: (209)333-6807
Email: lhansen@lodi.gov
Media Contacts
Lodi-News Sentinel
Richard Hanner, Editor
125 N. Church St.
P.O. Box 1360
Lodi, CA 95241
Phone: (209)369-2761
Fax: (209)369-2761
Email: richardh@lodinews.com
Sacramento Bee
Reed Parsell
Letters to the Editor
Email: oped@sacbee.com
Email Form
Stockton Record
Opinion Page Editor
P.O. Box 900
Stockton, CA 95201
For More Information
Read FFRF's original Lodi Action Alert
Read latest coverage from the Sacramento Bee
Read latest coverage from Lodi News-Sentinel
(In a previous Action Alert, FFRF asked members near Lodi, Calif. to attend the August 5th City Council meeting to object to prayers at government meetings. However, the City Council has decided to postpone this discussion until a future meeting, which they have not yet identified.)