Danny Lynchard's Kevo

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In Jesus' Name

The Rev. Danny Lynchard
Tulsa Police and Fire Chaplain

Tulsa World Article
By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
12/15/2007

In an effort to be inclusive, the name of Jesus has been excluded from prayers opening Tulsa City Council meetings.

"We started working on this about a year and half ago," said Karl Sniderman, a board member of the Tulsa Interfaith Alliance (TIA) and a member of the Humanist Association of Tulsa.

Sniderman said he and another TIA board member went to a council meeting that was opened with a prayer in Jesus' name.

"I'm Jewish and she's Muslim, and it kind of irked us," he said.

"The City Council represents many people of many faiths, and shouldn't be limiting itself to Christian prayer."

Sniderman said numerous courts have held that sectarian prayer in public meetings is unconstitutional.

He talked about the issue to the TIA board, the attorney for the City Council, the police and fire chaplain, and others.

Things moved slowly, he said, but the Rev. Danny Lynchard, the police and fire chaplain who assigns people to pray before the meetings, agreed with him.

"He wasn't concerned about the constitutionality of the issue, but he was concerned that it was divisive, rather than inclusive, and said he would work on it," Sniderman said.

Lynchard said the goal always has been to offer inclusive prayers, but along the way, some ministers have prayed in Jesus' name.

"The phrase 'in Jesus' name' made it a non-inclusive prayer," he said.

"The issue is not the name, but inclusion.

"Tulsa has been traditionally, and is to this day, a majority Christian community, but the idea is to not let the majority overrun the minority," he said.

Over time, religious leaders who did not comply have been removed from the rotation, he said.

Lynchard said that for years Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry scheduled City Council prayer, but five or six years ago, he was asked to fill in and has been doing it ever since.

The only requirement, he said, is that the person be a religious leader in the community.

Drew Rees, attorney for the City Council, said the constitutionality of prayer before council meetings has been upheld nationwide.

"It's a sensitive issue. We try to be sensitive to all people while meeting the needs of the City Council and upholding our traditions," he said.

After Sniderman's successful campaign to eliminate sectarian prayer, he turned his attention to getting non-Christian leaders to pray before the council meeting.

On Oct. 4, Rabbi Charles Sherman, Temple Israel, prayed for the safety, security and well-being of the city and its leaders.

"This is a public place," Sherman said.

"The City Council is for all of us. Jews feel ex cluded by prayers in the name of Jesus.

"This is a controversial area that people of good faith don't agree on," he said.

"The Tulsa Interfaith Alliance wanted to say, 'There's a diversity of faith in this community; let's enrich the pool.' I agreed to be part of that."

On Nov. 15, Allison Moore, an American who converted to Islam, prayed at the council meeting.

She said her prayer was "Christian-like," and no one raised an eyebrow.

In part, she prayed: "Lord, grant our city peace and prosperity. Lower our crime rates and send your blessings to our police force, our firemen and women, our city workers and all Oklahomans."

One Tulsa organization has been on the forefront of the effort to eliminate sectarian prayer in public settings.

The Oklahoma Conference for Community and Justice and its predecessor, the local chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice, have been involved in the issue for many years, according to executive director Nancy Day.

"When asked to give a prayer in a public setting, you cannot assume everyone is of your faith," she said.

"By praying to or through Jesus, that excludes folks in the room who are not Christian."

Other terms for deity, such as Almighty God, Maker, or Creator God, are acceptable to everyone, she said.

"We see prayer in a public forum as a privilege, and not a time to promote one's own faith, but a time for all present to be able to acknowledge and invoke the aid of deity," she said.

"The key word is public," she said. "We're not asking this of anyone in their own house of worship."

One of OCCJ's most popular brochures is its guideline on how to pray inclusively.

"It's not difficult to do that," Day said. "You don't have to compromise your own faith."

Day said anyone who cannot in good conscience offer an inclusive prayer should respectfully decline to offer public prayer.