The Obama Administration and Vanilla Prayers

The Houston National Cemetery, which, at 419 acres, is the second-largest cemetery administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, exceeded in size only by Arlington.  Recently, however, (Arleen) Ocasio, the cemetery’s Obama-appointed director, has been credibly accused of engaging in a pattern of censorship directed against private religious expression.

In May, with the approach of Memorial Day, Ocasio required that the ministers who planned to speak at the cemetery submit their proposed prayers to her in advance. Pastor Scott Rainey of Living Word Church did so, and was told to revise his prayers to be more “inclusive” — by excluding specific reference to his own religion.

Rainey took his case to federal district court in Houston, where Judge Lynn Hughes sharply rebuked the VA and Ocasio, issuing a restraining order against them on May 26. As Hughes said in his opinion, “the government cannot gag citizens” in the name of “some bureaucrat’s notion of cultural homogeneity.”

Scott Rainey prayed on Memorial Day as he had originally proposed, including the Lord’s Prayer and this closing: “While respecting people of every faith today, it is in the name of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, that I pray. Amen.”

I'm glad Mr Rainey happened to get the right judge, but since Memorial Day, Obama's prayer monitor is at it again:

 The chapel has allegedly been closed, its cross and Bible removed, and it is now said to be used as a “meeting space” when it is unlocked at all. The carillon in the 75-foot bell tower no longer tolls on a regular basis. And members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the National Memorial Ladies, attending upon the bereaved families and friends at veterans’ funerals, say they have been required to have their prayers pre-approved by Ocasio’s office, and have been told that the words “God” and “Jesus” are not to be used by them if they wish to continue their volunteer service at the cemetery.

I think we need some peaceful civil resistance aimed directly at our over-reaching federal government.

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