City Council prayer disclaimer not enough for group

YAKIMA -- Continuing to open meetings of the Yakima City Council with invocations to God or Jesus Christ will result in a lawsuit, the lawyer for a group that opposes prayer in government warned.

In recent weeks, the council's Rules Committee recommended no change to the longstanding prayer practice other than placing a statement or disclaimer on its business agendas explaining that such prayers are strictly voluntary.

The committee's recommendation is not binding on the full council, which is expected to take up the issue at its next regular business meeting Feb. 1.

Rebecca Markert, staff attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis., said in an interview Friday that a statement or disclaimer is not enough to satisfy her group, which opposes prayer and other demonstrations of religion in government settings.

"If you're still advancing one religion's doctrine, a disclaimer's not going to save you," she said.

The brewing showdown has become something of a cultural touchstone for the Yakima Valley over the past month since the Yakima Herald-Republic reported that Markert's group had challenged invocations as a constitutional violation of the separation between church and state.

The challenge is not frivolous. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has eight lawsuits currently before the courts across the country, including a challenge to the National Day of Prayer now before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

To support the complaint, Markert provided transcripts of every council invocation from January through October 2010 showing such prayers were always made in the name of "Heavenly Father" or Jesus Christ.

In a meeting at City Hall on Jan. 12, members of the council's Rules Committee, led by Mayor Micah Cawley, said they wanted to preserve invocations while surviving a legal challenge.

Option No. 1 was to keep praying but add a statement or disclaimer to business agendas.

Other options included an ecumenical rotation, inviting the leaders of recognized religious groups to lead the invocation, or a generic prayer that does not specifically cite God, Jesus or any other deity.

Senior Assistant City Attorney Mark Kunkler is drafting the disclaimer statement.

Like Cawley, he said he has received assistance on the case from the Alliance Defense Fund, a group of Christian lawyers who defend free faith speech.

"The key points are that (invocations) are voluntary and not being offered to promote a particular denomination," he said of the statement, adding, "It can be done."

But Markert dismissed advice from the Alliance Defense Fund as "nonsensical" and warned that anything short of a generic "nonsectarian and nondenominational" prayer will result in a lawsuit.

Not only that, she said her group would relish the opportunity to get a case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the appellate district that encompasses Yakima and the Pacific Northwest.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that legislative prayers are permissible in some circumstances, but the court hasn't considered the issue since 1983.

"A disclaimer is so illogical," Markert said, adding "Yakima looks like a very attractive case."

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 509-577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com.