Prayer at meeting draws solo complaint

A South Carolina councilman's prayer to Jesus and against abortion and same-sex marriage to open a county council meeting last week has drawn at least one complaint, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Spartanburg County Councilman O'Neal Mintz, filling in for the council's usual chaplain, opened the March 15 meeting thanking God for "His Son, Jesus Christ" and saying that America's problems are attributable in part to abortion. He also said the U.S. needs prayer because of same-sex marriage.

The prayer got the attention of Spartanburg resident Mary Miles, who often observes council meetings for the League of Women Voters. Miles told the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg that she complained on her own behalf, not the league's.

"I was particularly concerned on Monday night, because not only was he putting forth a very sectarian prayer, obviously a Christian prayer, but he was also bringing up an issue that to my knowledge has never had to do with County Council - and that is abortion, and the right to choose," Miles said.

Spartanburg County Council Chairman Jeff Horton and Vice Chairman David Britt said Miles was the only person at Monday's meeting to complain about Mintz's prayer.

"I am a Christian, and I believe in prayer," Horton said. "Now, I do believe there's a time and place for everything, just like the Bible said.

"I don't know the intent, but I think in a council meeting, it was probably not the right place."

In a court ruling upheld in 2004 by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the South Carolina town of Great Falls was told it could not invoke the name of Jesus in prayers to start council meetings because that indicates a government preference of one faith over others.

Since then, other councils have changed their opening invocations or faced legal challenges.

For about a year, Spartanburg County Council meetings have opened with a prayer by Chaplain Jerry Clevenger, who works for the sheriff's office. Clevenger couldn't make last week's meeting. Before Clevenger, the council asked various local pastors and community leaders to give an invocation before meetings.

The Herald-Journal reported that county officials will meet with Clevenger this week to discuss prayers at future council meetings.

"We have to be understanding of other people's beliefs. I am a Christian, but I know we had others in the audience who were not," council vice chairman Britt said. "We've got to realize that this is a public body. There are 270,000 taxpayers in Spartanburg County, and not everyone thinks like the other."

At Monday's meeting were representatives from the Spartanburg Buddhist Center and the Lao Association. The groups were seeking the council's approval for noise ordinance exclusions for celebrations they have planned.

Mintz told the newspaper Friday that he prays from his heart. "I stand by what I prayed for," Mintz said. "My lord and savior is personal to me."

Miles said she thinks the council will take steps to address her complaint.

"Our community is very diverse," she said. "And it's getting more so. And we've got to try to be more inclusive rather than exclusive."