[Newspoetry] "Spontaneous" Prayer

[Joe Futrelle]

Text of Prayer to be Spontaneously Chanted at Mandatory,
Spur-of-the-moment Prayers to be Held at Impulsively-Scheduled
Occasions Pre-determined Suddenly and Unexpectedly by Impromptu
Religious Organizations

Our Father, who art in --
whoops!  We didn't mean to pray
but hey I guess we might as well,
now that we've started;

And what a coincidence that
the football game is just about to begin!

OK, well God, check it out
(I would speak the King's English but
since this is just a spur of the moment thing
you'll have to put up with my vernacular,
is that OK, dude?) --
could you help us whoop Brookhaven's ASS!

(excuse my French, oh Lord)

today, and please please
elect Dubya so he can get rid of these
fucking bleeding heart Supreme Court Judges

(really sorry, I'm just speaking
extemporaneously here, Jesus)

and what's with the ACLU?
How do they fit in with your divine plan?
Must we suffer to reach the truth?
What's the meaning of life?

Hey, God, I'd like to continue with this
theological discussion and all, but
they're about to kick off.

Catch you later,

-- from the new york times --
'Spontaneous' Prayer Sidesteps Court

August 23, 2000
By The Associated Press



 BOGUE CHITTO, Miss. (AP) -- Wide receiver Scott Edwards says high 
school football and prayer go hand-in-hand on Friday nights and no 
court can change that. 

 The 16-year-old son of a Baptist preacher and many of his 
classmates at Bogue Chitto High are counting on fans in this little 
Mississippi community to restore prayer to the stadium legally -- 
with individuals deciding, on their own, to join hands and recite 
the Lord's Prayer. 

 The students' effort is part of a grass-roots movement, mainly  in
communities across the South, to encourage ``spontaneous''  prayer
as a way to get around a U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring  school
officials from letting students lead stadium crowds in  prayer. 

 The high court ruling in June came in a Texas case brought by  two
families -- one Catholic and one Mormon -- who challenged a  school
policy of letting students elect someone to lead the  benediction. 

 ``We have a very strong Christian atmosphere here,'' Scott said 
of the town, which has a Baptist church directly across from the 
500-student school. ``I feel like people have a right to express 
their Christian views. This is a community thing.'' 

 Football fan John Hart, who plans to attend Friday night's game, 
said people who don't want to pray have two options: ``They can 
shut their ears or go somewhere else.'' 

 David Ingebretsen of the American Civil Liberties Union said  what
is being planned is illegal. 

 ``It seems to me that a planned spontaneous prayer cannot be 
spontaneous and it violates the court's ruling,'' Ingebretsen said. 
``If this planned, spontaneous prayer happens, it forces everyone 
there to hear that prayer or to participate in it.'' 

 The movement, which has gained momentum over the past couple of 
weeks, was spearheaded in Mississippi by radio talk-show host Paul 
Ott, who used his syndicated call-in program, ``Listen to the 
Eagle,'' to get his message out on stations in Mississippi, 
Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas. 

 Ott, who sees the removal of prayer from schools as the cause of 
many of the nation's ills, said he consulted with lawyers and 
believes individual participation is the key to avoiding a legal 
confrontation. 

 ``I don't know who's going to start it. I think it will be the 
students,'' he said. ``We don't think this is breaking the law, but 
if it is breaking the law, I don't think they're going to take 
thousands of people to jail.'' 

 Jim Keith, the attorney for the school district, said as long as 
the school isn't orchestrating the prayer, there's no harm done. 
``If fans are sitting in the stand, and they want to branch out and 
say the Lord's Prayer, or some prayer to Allah or whoever, they can 
do that,'' Keith said. 

 In Asheville, N.C., churchgoers are making a similar push for 
``spontaneous'' prayer at high school games. In South Carolina, 
crowds plan to gather around the goal post and in the bleachers to 
recite the Lord's Prayer before high school games. 

 Elsewhere in Mississippi, people in Hattiesburg and Tupelo plan 
to distribute fliers urging fans to pray at football games in those 
communities, said J.D. Simpson of First Priority, a national campus 
ministry for junior high and high schools. 

 And the American Family Association, a conservative group in 
Tupelo, is also urging students and spectators at high school games 
across the country to recite the Lord's Prayer. 



 ------ 

 On the Net: 

 Listen to the Eagle:
http://www.listentotheeagle.com 

 ACLU: http://www.aclu.org 

 

The New York Times on the Web
http://www.nytimes.com

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----- End forwarded message -----
--
Joe Futrelle
Editor-within-chief,
Newspoetry dot com