Coolidge council considers limiting prayer to Christian groups

The Coolidge City Council is in hot water over a vote to consider allowing only Christian organizations to offer prayers before public meetings.

On Monday's agenda was a resolution to allow members of all religious organizations within Coolidge to offer a prayer, moment of silence or short message at the start of council meetings. Councilman Rob Hudelson, a Baptist pastor, suggested amending the resolution to limit it to only Christian groups. His proposal passed on a 4-2 vote.

Councilman Gary Lewis said he seconded Hudelson's motion and was among the four who supported it. Lewis said his vote was in support of asking the city attorney for more information, not a final decision on the matter.

"We asked our attorney to come back to us with more recommendations and then at that point a vote will take place," he said. "I don't see it passing. I won't support it when it comes back to us."

Lewis said the community's response has been evenly split in support and opposition.

"I've had conversations with many people in the public, including local pastors," he said. "And while many agree that it was a good idea, it is not something that would be (legally) successful, and I agree with that. I don't agree with anything that would bring that much litigation towards the city."

Lewis said he would prefer that no invocation be allowed before meetings, as is city policy now. Coolidge allowed invocations from 1996 to 2007, but Lewis said they stopped due to a lack of interest from the religious community.

Hudelson did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

City Attorney Denis Fitzgibbons said he told the council that the proposed change would be substantial and require a resolution to be rewritten and voted on at a future meeting.

"They gave me direction, and so I'm going to do that," he said.

He declined to say whether he thought such a resolution would withstand constitutional scrutiny but added that the Supreme Court was "very clear" on the overall issue of prayers at local government meetings in an opinion last year. In that case, the high court said prayer is permitted as long as the community does not discriminate against minority faiths.

The Coolidge City Council meets Sept. 28.

The ACLU of Arizona already plans to weigh in on the matter. Legal Director Victoria Lopez said they will send a letter to Fitzgibbons and the council explaining that limiting invocations to a single religious group would violate the First Amendment.

"They are creating a policy that will advocate for a particular religion," she said. "There isn't a legal question. It's problematic on First Amendment grounds, certainly, and it seems like a really bad policy position to take."