(RAWSTORY) — The city council of Pismo Beach, California is being sued by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) for opening its meetings with explicitly Christian invocations.
According to transcripts obtained by FFRF and submitted along with its complaint, between January of 2008 and October of 2013, the city’s official chaplain, Paul Jones, has called the council meeting to order with a Christian prayer 125 times.
Many of Jones’s prayers include passages devoted to the role of prayer in public life. On March 18, 2008, Jones said:
“The power of prayer is at the dynamic force to repel unrighteousness, but the influence of prayer has been dramatically reduced in our public life, and the moral compass of the Holy Scriptures has been largely laid aside. Public morality is declining to dangerously low points. Help each of us to always seek to live justly and to pursue righteousness and be zealous for lifestyles that honor God. We’re most grateful for our nations motto that strongly instructs us, in God we trust.”
