On Lodi City Council prayers

Sometimes it takes a scandal to get people talking about something they should have discussed long ago. While it's never comfortable to have outsiders meddling in your business, sometimes they can hold up a mirror forcing us to examine ourselves and decide whether we like what we see.

The controversy over public prayer at the Lodi City Council meetings is for the most part, as one comment eloquently put it, a "tempest in a teapot." While it's apparent now that at least one person was offended enough to raise the issue, it's something that has gone on in Lodi for years and never bothered anyone until now — at least not enough for them to get vocal about it.

And perhaps that's a problem.

For the record, I have no problem at all with public prayer. I don't mind people expressing their faith in my presence, even if it's not a faith I share. I think belief is a beautiful thing, even if we are expressing it in different ways.

I think that's true of most people. And while it's tempting to say, "Most people aren't bothered, so who cares?" I don't think that's the right thing to say.

It's very easy, when you're a member of a mainstream group, to take that status for granted. People in the mainstream can make a hundred different hurtful comments and never realize it. We don't mean to be hurtful, or to exclude, but when you're in a situation where most people you interact with have the same background you do, it's easy to forget that there are other experiences out there.

Have you ever been in a situation when someone said something about a group of people, not knowing you were a member of that group? Your immediate reaction is usually anger or hurt, but because of the situation, you have to weigh whether to respond. Maybe a friend said something and you value the friendship over the comment; maybe a co-worker said something and it's not worth risking a peaceful work environment; maybe a stranger said something and you can't know how they'll react to a gentle correction. And even if you decide it's not worth making waves, it still bugs you, a little, and you feel suddenly very "other."

This is where the mirror comes in. It can reflect a truth that needs to be told, that people may have been keeping silent out of respect. An outsider can sometimes show us clearly what we'd be unable to see if a friend or family member showed us.

Under the mirror presented by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Bob Johnson said, "We are a Christian community, regardless of whether people like it or not."

Now, this quote has people upset, though I don't believe Mr. Johnson meant it the way it sounded. But just because you don't intend to step on someone doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

The key word in Mr. Johnson's statement, the one that has people stirred up, is "Christian," but it shouldn't be. The word that people ought to focus on is "community."

Lodi is a community, and it's a wonderful, vibrant, diverse community. But, as in many communities, Lodi is also a place where it's easy for members of majority groups — whether that majority trait is ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, socio-economic, or ability — to lose sight of that diversity. It's human nature to believe other people are just like you, in experiences, beliefs, abilities and attractions, unless you are constantly reminded they are not.

There many who follow the Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist paths in Lodi, and others who follow different paths or none at all. But they aren't as visible in the community as Christians are, and so some of us may forget them.

A community cannot be strong unless it is inclusive, so that everyone is encouraged to contribute to the community's success (or, to quote from my own faith, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand"). Here in Lodi, where our community is very diverse, this means that those in the minority must be tolerant of the majority — and vice versa.

While public prayer is not in any way, shape or form a bad thing, prayer sponsored by the local government has the potential to be.

If the invocation at the City Council meetings gives equal time to religious leaders from all of Lodi's religious groups, then I don't believe that there's any complaint to be made, even if there is the occasional mention of a religious figure.

But if one religion is getting the majority of the time so that other groups are being excluded — whether it's consciously or not — from being able to comfortably participate in local government, then there's a problem.

Lodi has tried the non-denominational invocation, and it's not working. If it was, a group from Michigan wouldn't be poking their nose in Lodi's business. It may be too late to begin enforcing the policy currently in place; or maybe it was just too easy to forget about it in the first place.

The way I see it, there are two ways to solve this problem: Either make sure that all of Lodi's religious groups have equal time to present the invocation (including atheist and agnostic groups), or begin each meeting with a moment of silence, in which people can offer their own, silent, individual prayers, or simply gather their thoughts and read the agenda before the meeting begins.

But ignoring the problem and continuing on a path that obviously makes some members of our community feel excluded from its governance will only make matters worse. Because if any member of Lodi's community feels as though they cannot have a say, or that their words matter less than someone else's, we've divided our community.

Kyla Cathey is a copy editor at the Lodi News-Sentinel.

Reader Feedback

Lodian wrote on Jun 18, 2009 9:49 PM:

" A moment of silence respects everyone. "

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On Lodi City Council prayers

Discussion points out need for minority to respect the majority — and vice versa

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