So just north of Pensacola FL. the principal of Pace HS (public), Frank Lay (pictured) asked the athletic director, Robert Freeman to say a brief blessing an appreciation luncheon for those who helped move toward a new field house.

This sort of prayer/blessing is offered every day in our congress. Now, because the principal shortsightedly did something that would have been routine 5-10 yrs ago, in the face of an earlier injunction as a result of an ACLU case, he and the Athletic Director are facing fines of up to $5,000 and possibly 6 months in Federal jail. They have also been told by the state (Bd of Ed?) that they could lose their RETIREMENTS if the case holds up – for saying a prayer at a faculty/booster luncheon.

I understand that the principal and athletic director are being said to be guilty of what might at best be misdemeanor offenses by PRAYING ILLEGALLY (I cannot believe my country has come to this when we used to read Old Testament scripture in my elementary classes) – however the possible punishment and financial ramifications of this very innocent act seem extraordinarily out of line. This is a small rural HS with a very large part of the student body who have strong faith backgrounds. The prayers were said after school hours with NO STUDENTS present. The school caved to the ACLU previously by prohibiting a Christian student body president from speaking at graduation for fear she might say something offensively (more…)