4-H Prayer Ban Offensive to Hoosier Families, Says State Activist
by Jim Brown
June 29, 2006
(AgapePress) - - An Indiana pro-family group is objecting to a ban on prayer at 4-H meetings in one county.A memo issued last month by the Lake County Cooperative Extension Service says prayer is forbidden at all times, including to "begin or close meetings, fundraisers, camp sessions, including meals, and/or award ceremonies." Stan Sims, the County Extension director, says he issued the directive because "We want to respect peoples' beliefs and be inclusive."
But Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, says Sims is not being inclusive of people of faith -- nor of most people in the Hoosier State, who Clark says support "things like having 'under God' in the Pledge and 'in God we trust' on our money."
Clark notes recent activity as proof of his claim. "We just created in Indiana an 'In God We Trust' license plate that will be available next year, and they're expecting to sell tens of thousands of them from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles," the family activist says. "Indiana is very tolerant of religion -- but we're also very respectful of faith and of God in general."
Most Hoosiers, he contends, have no problem with prayer in public schools and at sporting events like the Indianapolis 500. "People are not offended by prayer," Clark states. And while he acknowledges there may be a "radical minority" that is "very intolerant of religion," the AFA of Indiana leader that is not the case generally.
"[T]he vast majority of Hoosiers, people in Indiana and the Midwest, support prayer and the right to pray," Clark maintains. "I think this is a very poor move, and I think it will offend a lot of families in Indiana."
The formal prayers had been a tradition at various events, including 4-H, which has more than 800 youth members in Lake County.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
