Please help FFRF keep religion out of government in a North Carolina city! Ask Mayor Ed Hooks and members of the Mebane city council to abide by his decision in December to stop opening meetings with governmental prayer.
The Freedom From Religion complained on behalf of a resident in November that the Mebane City Council always began with a prayer, invariably Christian in nature. As we wrote to Mayor Hooks and the rest of the council members, “Precedent from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over North Carolina, prohibits government-led prayer of the sort practiced at the Council’s meetings.”
The mayor initially responded by changing the prayer into a moment of silence. But now other members of the Board have moved to create a new city policy that would return this divisive and inappropriate practice. Please help FFRF keep pressure on the council to do the right thing!
Use our automated system to contact the mayor and council by pressing “TAKE ACTION” below. It just takes a minute. Feel free to customize the response. If you live in Mebane, please identify yourself as a Mebane constituent.
Talking Points
As a North Carolina citizen who respects the separation of church and state, I am dismayed to read that the Mebane Council has decided to reverse the decision to change a moment of prayer into a moment of silence.
In order to demonstrate the Board’s respect for the diverse range of religious and nonreligious citizens living in Mebane, we urge you to concentrate on civil matters and leave religion to the private conscience of each individual. The Board can pray on its own time and dime, but should not inject religious ritual and prayer into a governmental meeting. Thank you.
