Action Alert! Lodi is Still Not a Christian Community!
Lodi Prayer Decision Coming Soon!
September 23, 2009
The massive public debate over prayers at government meetings in Lodi, Calif. continues! A public hearing on Sept. 30, over FFRF’s complaint about Lodi’s history of sectarian prayer, is fast approaching. Based on turnout at this meeting, the Council will decide whether to continue praying on government time and specifically whether to permit sectarian prayers (to Jesus).
FFRF is asking for your help to continue to write and call the Mayor and, if you live in the area, attend and speak at the meeting, and attend a pro-secular rally before the City Council meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 30, starting at 5:30 PM. The Pray in Jesus Name Project is once again planning to protest secular council meetings at this event so freethinkers need to be visible, for the press and public, to show that there is support for the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. If you can participate in this peaceful educational event, please meet with other freethinkers at the Hutchins Street Square location of the meeting (see below).
Recall that Lodi Council member Bob Johnson has referred to Lodi as a "Christian community, regardless of whether people like it or not." The Lodi City Council must be reminded that because of our godless and secular Constitution, no American city can be considered "Christian," especially by government officials!
Prayers before government meetings are unnecessary. Council members may pray privately or at their church of choice, but there is no need to invoke divine guidance over sewers or liquor licenses! FFRF often points out that believers might heed the advice of Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, who advised believers to pray in their closet in secret, lest they be considered hypocrites (Matt. 6:5-6). The prayerful practice at Council meetings runs afoul of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution because it impermissibly advances Christianity. It leads a reasonable observer to believe that the Council is endorsing not only religion over nonreligion but also Christianity over other faiths.
Lodi Mayor Larry Hansen has told the Sacramento Bee, "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 contact 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.
The following meeting allows for public comment:
Wed., September 30, 6:30PM
Hutchins Street Square
125 S. Hutchins Street
Lodi CA 95240
If you have any questions about this meeting, agenda, or location, please contact the City Clerk at (209) 333-6702 or cityclerk@lodi.gov.
We thank local resident David Diskin and his group, Lodi United, for helping to organize a local presence. Please see the Lodi United website for more information about the upcoming pro-secular rally: http://www.lodiunited.org/. If you are interested in attending the pro-secular rally, before the City Council meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 5:30 pm, please contact David Diskin at (209) 610-0651 or by e-mail david@LodiUnited.org.
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). 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
E-mail: 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
E-mail: richardh@lodinews.com
Sacramento Bee
Reed Parsell
Letters to the Editor
E-mail: oped@sacbee.com
Email Form
Stockton Record
Opinion Page Editor
P.O. Box 900
Stockton, CA 95201
editor@recordnet.com
For More Information
Read coverage from the Stockton Record
Read more coverage from the Stockton Record
Read coverage from Lodi News-Sentinel
If you haven’t updated us on your current e-mail address, please do so at info@ffrf.org. We’d love to save time, money and trees by e-mailing you about local issues in the future. Thank you for your help!
Action Alert by Bonnie Gutsch