This week’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting was six hours long, addressing a variety of topics including the gathering’s typical prayer.
On Tuesday, testimony from the public broached what they consider to be a violation of the separation of church and state.
“I was really appalled to be, and again tonight, to be subjected to a prayer because of people being arrogant and thinking everybody in this room is Christian and they aren’t…
“I felt completely uncomfortable standing here having to give a prayer, I am not Christian and I am totally not… afraid to say that and I shouldn’t have to come in here and pray…
“If any of you guys are Christian or whatever your belief system is, if you do read the Bible we’re not supposed to be shoving this down people’s throats.”
Local Pastor Alan Humphries then testified that he has often been asked to pray before the Assembly…
Humphries: “I don’t recall ever inviting anyone else to pray with me, or forcing anyone else to pray. The Borough Assembly and the community asks for us to come and pray a prayer of guidance and direction and no one else is required to pray. In fact, when I pray I don’t say, let us pray, I just pray.”
The Borough Clerk’s office reports that no kind of change to the structure of the meetings has been brought forward by any of the Assembly Members as of Thursday morning.
