Public prayer event on for May 4 without endorsement from Perry

PERRY, Ga. — Over 20 area residents came out to the Tuesday evening pre-council meeting, with a handful of them sharing their viewpoints on the potential of an upcoming public event in Downtown Perry to honor the National Day of Prayer on May 4.

Tim McLauchlin, pastor at Life Church and vice president of the Perry Ministerial Association, said he wished that people of all religions would come out to participate in a potential public prayer event, not just Christians. And ultimately, he added, the ministerial association just wants to lift up the city, its first responders and its people.

“If [people of any religion] want to come out and be a part of this, I don’t see a reason why they can’t do that,” McLauchlin said. ” … We just want to pray for our council; that’s all we’re asking for. We want to pray for this city.”

One resident said she has lived in Perry since 1982, and she saw prayer as an important part of her family’s lives and the area as a whole.

“Prayer has always been part of our community,” she said. “I recognize some faces here that I have prayed with over the years.”

She added that she has always taught her children that it’s important to gather with those in the community, also saying Christmas at the Crossroads has been a favorite community event of hers in the past. And while the city offers other community events throughout the year, the Day of Prayer event should be no different, she said.

“Whatever it takes, we need to have this,” she said. “It honors our law enforcement, it honors our military, it honors people from all socioeconomic backgrounds, having the day of prayer.”

Don Caulley, pastor at Grace Church, said he felt that the city and its staff were not dealing with this manner with any ill intent. He recommended clear communication to make sure every party involved understood the role of the city in planning mandated events for its calendar.

“I would encourage us all to communicate intent upon what we’re doing,” Caulley said. “I know there are some decisions that I probably wouldn’t like, but that I would understand as a person and a citizen of this town, if we understood what the overall direction and intent is coming from.”

New Hope Baptist Pastor Dennis Harden said gathering as a community for events like this one provide many benefits to a city like Perry, providing hope for the lost, guiding the young as well as cutting down on crime and violence.

“As much as we can keep God in the midst of all that we do, the city would be much better,” Harden said.

Lewis Kiger, pastor at Memorial Heights Baptist Church, said he meant no ill intent when he submitted his column regarding the matter that was featured on Page 6 of the Jan. 14 edition of The Houston Home Journal.

Kiger said he spoke with Mayor Randall Walker earlier Tuesday morning and was feeling much better about the situation overall.

“I would like to see the city support this,” Kiger said. “I understand there are certain reasons why you have to be smart about what you do.

” … It is a desire of these folks here, and I believe many of you all, to see God glorified in our community. I know not everyone shares the same faith; we’re not all exactly alike, I understand that.”

Kiger added that the city’s churches have a “significant impact” on the welfare of Perry, and the council should definitely keep that in consideration.

City Manager Lee Gilmour commented following these viewpoints from the public, first explaining that the city has been cutting back on its number of special events.

“For example, the Food Truck Friday was mentioned; we have dropped two of those off [the schedule] because of the extra overtime and costs that are involved, and the difficulty of getting employees to come in support of these types of activities,” Gilmour explained.

His second concern involved the city population and its growth over the years, saying that as more people of different backgrounds and religions move to the city, they have to be mindful of that as an administration in order to not prioritize one religious belief over another. He said, historically, council has stayed away from providing city resources for religious events.

“Consequently, right or wrong, a lot of times, when you move into the appearance of supporting some type of religious group, you wind up having a number of other groups coming in,” Gilmour said. “I’m very concerned about the precedent that would be established.

“I understand that we’re talking about the National Day of Prayer, but a lot of different groups are coming into the city, and have been for a while, may not take it that way. They may take it [as], ‘because you supported, we’ll say in this case, the Perry Ministerial Association for the Nation Day of Prayer, you should equally support some event for the Hindu religion,’ or whatever types of groups you may have.”

His third concern involved the potential legal challenges that could arise as a result of taking part in the event as requested.

“That can put the city in, I believe, a difficult situation to defend itself when it is aware of what, historically, it has done, and [legal challengers] may question the reasons why this particular event was given its support,” Gilmour added.

He said that the city has never had any issue with any religious group gathering on company property in order to pray. This year, however, there has been a request for the use of city resources during the National Day of Prayer event.

“That makes a difference, and I think it’s important for council to keep that in mind,” Gilmour advised. “Administration would recommend to deny this particular change.”

Brooke Newby, city attorney, agreed with Gilmour’s thoughts, saying that observing National Day of Prayer on public grounds falls within legal parameters for the city. However, making it a city-sponsored event would require the city to provide resources such as personnel and more.

Council member Joy Peterson said that the people interested in making this event happen are more than open to having people of all religions gather together to pray for what they would like. She also added that the event would take place during the day and not last long, and the group would only be asking for the use of a sound system and a stage, therefore not requiring many resources from the city.

“This differs from something like a festival or a Food Truck [Friday], in that it is during the day, and it lasts for 30 minutes,” Peterson said. “They’re not asking for street closures or police presence or any of those things. So, I don’t think that it’s a taxing event, I would see. So, I feel like that each of the points made [by Gilmour and Newby] were valid, but not grounds not to have it.”

Council member Robert Jones said when the county owned the courthouse downtown, they held the same stance on events such as this one — and he said the City of Perry should act no different, now that the city owns the building and property. He added that he believed the event should take place, but it should not be a “city-sponsored” gathering.

“That in no way means I am opposed to the National Day of Prayer happening on our courthouse grounds to glorify God, just in the way that it always has done in the past,” Jones said. “Prayer is something that is equally meaningful to me and our church community, as a vital, integral, important part of our community that I want to see participated in public, just as it always has.”

Mayor Randall Walker commented next, saying public prayers take place on public grounds on a regular basis.

“We have no feeling that you should not be allowed to [pray publicly],” Walker said. ” … I’m having to stand from the position of representing all 24,000 people who live in Perry.”

A number of churches come by city hall throughout the year for morning prayers over first responders and city staff, Walker added.

Pastor McLauchlin came to the podium again, asking that if it was okay to use the public space as long as the ministerial association provided the stage and sound equipment, would it be okay for them to use city power access from the building. Mayor and council agreed that was fine.

After this discussion from various parties involved, council decided to not allow the event to be sponsored by the city, but it would otherwise take place on the courthouse lawn downtown the morning of May 4.

Peggy Davis came forward with concerns on construction in the city and how it affects traffic, especially on Houston Lake Road. She also said that, as development continues, council should consider installing a traffic light to assist with drivers coming out of James Street.

As National Day of Prayer comes closer, expect more coverage on the event in The Houston Home Journal.

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