Lowell, Mass. City Council no longer to begin meetings with traditional prayer

[Ian David]

LOWELL, Mass. -- Separation of church and state is taking center stage in Lowell as city council meetings will no longer open with the recitation of the Lord's Prayer.

Councilors have voted to change the prayer tradition, which dated back more than four decades.

"I think they should continue with it," Russ Lahaise, a Lowell resident, said. "I don't think it should change at all."

"I think they should have left it just like it was," said Ilene Bevis of Lowell. "I mean, I've lost a little bit of faith."

The council will still recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

They have also agreed to come up with a non-secular prayer that is acceptable to all religious denominations in the city.


And now, our traditional prayer. Hail Thee, Great Satan, Lord of Darkness...

More:
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO45649/

[chelsea0011]

1. I'll tell ya. I was stunned to learn they still start the meetings

with the Lord's Prayer. Didn't the Supreme Court decide on that in 1963? I remember 4th grade. My teacher came in one day and said she could no longer start the day with the Lord's Prayer. (two weeks later she came to class and said fu*k it. We are doing the prayer) That was back n 1963. So I laughed when I read of one member talking about how the Supreme Court said we should stop.

[Ian David]

2. Different christian denominations even have different VERSIONS of The "Lord's" Prayer.

How can it be "The Lord's" prayer, if each denomination has a different version?

Isn't it then, really "The Presbyterian's Prayer to The Lord" or "The Catholic's Prayer to The Lord"?

[Evoman]

3. I'm still having a hard time understanding why people talk to the air.

I don't understand prayer.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Good. Though I'm pissed they still feel the need to find a "non-secular prayer

For Christ's sake, people, you are a government.

If you wanna pray, pray silently on your own before the fucking meeting.

And, you stupid jackoffs, if you are so fucking bent on praying a Christian prayer, how can you then say the Pledge of Allegiance? It's one or the other, fuckers. You can't claim allegiance to both.

[Ian David]

5. We could have some fun with this, you know

Bring a group of friends from various religions and denominations who all refuse to agree on a prayer that meets their requirements.

If religions were capable of reaching consensus, we wouldn't be plagued with so damn many of them.

[cosmik debris]

6. And then there is the form if the prayer

Do they sit, stand, kneel, face Mecca? I would have to insist on a drum circle with a bonfire and dancing as a form of prayer.

[Ian David]

7. A member of the Agta tribe from The Philipines must insist that public masturbation be included.

Masturbation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

<snip>

In some tribes such as the Agta, Philippines, stimulation of the genitals is encouraged from an early age. (1) Upon puberty, the young male is then paired off with a "wise elder" or "witch doctor" who uses masturbation to build his ability to ejaculate in preparation for a ceremony. The ceremony culminates in a public ejaculation before a celebration. The ejaculate is saved in a wad of animal skin and worn later to help conceive children. In this and other tribes, the measure of manhood is actually associated more with the amount of ejaculate and his need than penis size. Frequent ejaculation through masturbation from an early age fosters frequent ejaculation well into adulthood. (The clinical outcome of childhood masturbation. Turk J Pediatr. 2000 Oct-Dec;42(4):304-7.)

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masturbation