Forsyth County, NC -- From local court all the way to the Supreme Court, the issue of Christian prayers in public meetings started in Forsyth County. A federal appeals court ruled prayers at the County Commission meetings were predominately Christian and therefore, violated the first amendment.
To get some perspective, News 2 talked to community leaders, with varying reactions.
Dr. Steve Corts is the Senior Pastor at Centergrove Baptist Church in Clemmons. He lead the "Let Us All Pray" organization, appealing a ruling that prohibited sectarian prayers at public meetings.
Dr. Corts said he's very disappointed with the ruling and surprised. "That's not the government's business to be parsing prayers and deciding what is acceptable and what is not", added Corts.
However, Winston-Salem community activist, Janet Owen had a different view. Owen said no prayer should be included in government meetings open to the public. Owen said, "Even a non sectarian prayer still leaves people out, people who maybe don't pray at all or maybe pray differently."
The Forsyth County Commissioners supported the appeal, hoping to get sectarian prayers back on the agenda, except for Walter Marshall.
Marshall told News 2 that he is not opposed to prayer, but he was the only commissioner who publicly opposed the appeal to bring prayer back into the meeting. Marshall said, "We, in Forsyth county, represent a diverse group of people who represent all religions so I respect their rights as much as I respect my own."
The commission can now enact new rules to comply with the decision, meaning they could leave the meetings the way they are without anything or adopt a non-sectarian prayer or moment of silence to start the meeting.
WFMY News 2