FFRF has ensured that a senior center in Grants, N.M., will be serving prayer-free meals from here on out.
A concerned member of the Cibola Senior Center informed FFRF that the federally funded institution was instructing its members to pray before receiving meals. Although the center was not directly coercing members to comply with the practice, staff members were singling out individuals who did not pray. This created a divisive atmosphere that ostracized those who chose not to pray.
“Not only does permitting public prayer at these meals cause concern that the government is endorsing religion, it also violates our citizens’ rights to be free from religious proselytizing,” wrote FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel in a letter to the center’s director, Dorie Sandoval, on May 19. Sandoval responded on June 8, informing FFRF that the center had a policy against employees encouraging prayer that would be strictly adhered to.
